24 ecological risk assessment Flashcards
(12 cards)
what is ERA?
what is ERA used for (re: contaminated sites)?
what is the general paradigm?
what are the four general steps in the risk assessment process?
- problem formation
- exposure characterization
- ecological effects characterization (dose or concentration response assessment)
- risk characterization
what is problem formation?
identifies the specific questions that are to be asked during the risk assessment process
-the goal of the ERA is defined in the initial planning process (i.e. link to the regulatory or management goal)
-identification and preliminary characterization of stressors) which ones? what sources?), ecological effects (assessment endpoints, valued ecosystem components [VECs]), and the ecosystems potentially at risk (sites/areas contaminated)
assessment endpoints and measurement endpoints must be defined:
-assessment endpoints: describe what you are trying to protect (e.g. fish, wildlife, entire ecosystems)
-measurement endpoints: what you actually measure (e.g. population abundance, biochemical/enzyme responses, reproduction)
-consultation with risk managers and stakeholders is very important here and leads to the development of a conceptual model
what is the conceptual model?
an abstraction to represent reality. Conceptual models often consist of text and/or graphics and typically include the receiving environment, contaminated media, modes of exposure and receptors (source, pathway, receptor)
what is exposure characterization?
what is effects characterization (ecological)?
what is the continuation of effects characterizations?
what is risk characterization?
what is the next lecture?
