Educated Guesses: Health Risk Assessment in Environmental Impact Statements

1990 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-427
Author(s):  
Pamela D. Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
National Environmental Policy Act ◽  
The Public ◽  
Environmental Impact Statements ◽  
National Environmental ◽  
Scientific Tool ◽  
Predicted Risk

Environmental pollution threatens public health. The search for solutions has advanced the frontiers of science and law. Efforts to protect the environment and public health begin with describing potential adverse consequences of human activities and characterizing the predicted risk. The National Environmental Policy Act requires the preparation of environmental impact statements to describe the effects of proposed federal projects and provide information for agency decisionmakers and the public.Risks to public health are particularly difficult to quantify because of uncertainty about the relation between exposure to environmental contamination and disease. Risk assessment is the current scientific tool to present estimates of risk. The methodology has created controversy, however, when underlying assumptions and uncertainties are not clearly presented. Critics caution that the methodology is vulnerable to bias. This Note evaluates the use of risk assessment in the environmental impact statement process and offers recommendations to ensure informed decisions.

ANALYSIS OF OIL SPILL ACCIDENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS

1975 ◽  
Vol 1975 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
Bruce Beyaert
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
National Environmental Policy Act ◽  
State Laws ◽  
Oil Transportation ◽  
Environmental Impact Statements ◽  
Exploration And Production ◽  
National Environmental

ABSTRACT Environmental impact statements (EISs) are often required under the National Environmental Policy Act or similar state laws for proposed activities such as petroleum exploration and production or for new oil transportation facilities such as marine terminals and pipelines. One of the critical concerns which must be properly addressed in an EIS for such activities or facilities is the risk of an accidental oil spill and the environmental impact which would result. This paper describes a comprehensive approach to analysis of oil spill accidents in such EISs. It identifies sources of relevant data and technical information while also pointing out areas where knowledge is incomplete. Techniques are recommended for determining the probability and size of a spill, the fate of the oil, and the resulting environmental impacts. The paper is intended to serve as a useful guide for those preparing or reviewing EISs for proposed large projects which involve appreciable oil spill risks.

scholarly journals US Forest Service Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act: Fast, Variable, Rarely Litigated, and Declining

2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-418
Author(s):  
Forrest Fleischman ◽  
Cory Struthers ◽  
Gwen Arnold ◽  
Mike Dockry ◽  
Tyler Scott
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Fast Variable ◽  
National Environmental Policy Act ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessments ◽  
Environmental Impact Statements ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Forest Service ◽  
National Environmental ◽  
National Environmental Policy

Abstract Abstract This paper draws on systematic data from the US Forest Service’s (USFS) Planning, Appeals and Litigation System to analyze how the agency conducts environmental impact assessments under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We find that only 1.9 percent of the 33,976 USFS decisions between 2005 and 2018 were processed as Environmental Impact Statements, the most rigorous and time-consuming level of analysis, whereas 82.3 percent of projects fit categorical exclusions. The median time to complete a NEPA analysis was 131 days. The number of new projects has declined dramatically in this period, with the USFS now initiating less than half as many projects per year as it did prior to 2010. We find substantial variation between USFS units in the number of projects completed and time to completion, with some units completing projects in half the time of others. These findings point toward avenues for improving the agency’s NEPA processes.

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Rise of Environmental Protection in the 1970s, and the Political Drama of the Next Three Decades

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
James K. Conant ◽  
Peter J. Balint
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Environmental Impact Statement ◽  
National Environmental Policy Act ◽  
Environmental Impact Statements ◽  
Run Up ◽  
National Environmental ◽  
National Environmental Policy

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was approved unanimously in the Senate and with near unanimity in the House of Representatives in December 1969. President Nixon signed the act into law on January 1, 1970. The new statute was both brief and farsighted. In fewer than 3,500 words the congressional authors of NEPA articulated for the first time a national policy on the environment, set in motion an innovative regulatory process centered on environmental impact statements, institutionalized public participation in federal environmental decision making, and introduced the requirement that the president report annually to Congress on the nation’s environmental status and trends. NEPA also included a provision that established a new agency, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), in the Executive Office of the President. The CEQ’s assigned statutory role was to implement the environmental impact statement process, prepare the president’s annual environmental report on the condition of the environment, develop policy proposals for solving environmental problems, and coordinate efforts across the federal government to address environmental concerns. As stated in the law, NEPA is designed to “encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment”; to “promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man”; and to “fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as trustee of the environment for succeeding generations.” The references to promoting harmony between people and the environment, protecting the biosphere, and affirming the nation’s responsibility for environmental stewardship illustrate an understanding of the scope, scale, and significance of environmental matters that was significantly ahead of its time. The language in NEPA quoted above anticipated by twenty years the concern for the Earth’s biosphere and the concept of environmental sustainability that would become more widely articulated in the run-up to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Moreover, NEPA has had an enduring global impact. By the law’s fortieth anniversary, a majority of U.S. states had established their own environmental impact statement requirements and more than 160 nations worldwide had adopted similar legislation.

Development of a probabilistic model for quantitative risk assessment of COVID-19 in Brazil

2021 ◽  
pp. 2150069
Author(s):  
Paulo Gabriel Santos Campos de Siqueira ◽  
Alexandre Calumbi Antunes de Oliveira ◽  
Heitor Oliveira Duarte ◽  
Márcio das Chagas Moura
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Health System ◽  
Probabilistic Model ◽  
Public Health System ◽  
The Other ◽  
Quantitative Risk Assessment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
Excessive Number

We have developed a probabilistic model to quantify the risks of COVID-19 explosion in Brazil, the epicenter of COVID-19 in Latin America. By explosion, we mean an excessive number of new infections that would overload the public health system. We made predictions from July 12th to Oct 10th, 2020 for various containment strategies, including business as usual, stay at home (SAH) for young and elderly, flight restrictions among regions, gradual resumption of business and the compulsory wearing of masks. They indicate that: if a SAH strategy were sustained, there would be a negligible risk of explosion and the public health system would not be overloaded. For the other containment strategies, the scenario that combines the gradual resumption of business with the mandatory wearing of masks would be the most effective, reducing risk to considerable category. Should this strategy is applied together with the investment in more Intensive Care Unit beds, risk could be reduced to negligible levels. A sensitivity analysis sustained that risks would be negligible if SAH measures were adopted thoroughly.

FDA-iRISK—A Comparative Risk Assessment System for Evaluating and Ranking Food-Hazard Pairs: Case Studies on Microbial Hazards

2013 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUHUAN CHEN ◽  
SHERRI B. DENNIS ◽  
EMMA HARTNETT ◽  
GREG PAOLI ◽  
RÉGIS POUILLOT ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Quantitative Risk Assessment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Life Years ◽  
The Impact

Stakeholders in the system of food safety, in particular federal agencies, need evidence-based, transparent, and rigorous approaches to estimate and compare the risk of foodborne illness from microbial and chemical hazards and the public health impact of interventions. FDA-iRISK (referred to here as iRISK), a Web-based quantitative risk assessment system, was developed to meet this need. The modeling tool enables users to assess, compare, and rank the risks posed by multiple food-hazard pairs at all stages of the food supply system, from primary production, through manufacturing and processing, to retail distribution and, ultimately, to the consumer. Using standard data entry templates, built-in mathematical functions, and Monte Carlo simulation techniques, iRISK integrates data and assumptions from seven components: the food, the hazard, the population of consumers, process models describing the introduction and fate of the hazard up to the point of consumption, consumption patterns, dose-response curves, and health effects. Beyond risk ranking, iRISK enables users to estimate and compare the impact of interventions and control measures on public health risk. iRISK provides estimates of the impact of proposed interventions in various ways, including changes in the mean risk of illness and burden of disease metrics, such as losses in disability-adjusted life years. Case studies for Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella were developed to demonstrate the application of iRISK for the estimation of risks and the impact of interventions for microbial hazards. iRISK was made available to the public at http://irisk.foodrisk.org in October 2012.

ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION OF CLOSED MINING PERIMETERS IN MARAMUREȘ COUNTY

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-26
Author(s):  
Adina Bud ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
Physical And Chemical

The paper presents the context in which the closure of the mining in the Maramureş county took place by carrying out some inappropriate works that generated phenomena with a strong environmental impact through manifestations, physical and chemical in nature. The analysis performed so far shows that these events will amplify the environmental impact on the public health in the future, with long-term consequences.

scholarly journals Commentary: 20 years online with “Your Disease Risk”

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham A. Colditz ◽  
Hank Dart
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Health Risk ◽  
Cancer Prevention ◽  
Health Risk Assessment ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The Public ◽  
Personalized Health

Abstract The Your Disease Risk tool (yourdiseaserisk.wustl.edu) went live to the public in January 2000 and was one of the first personalized health risk assessment sites on the Internet. Its launch marked the culmination of years of work by a large, multi-disciplinary university team whose primary goal was to translate the science on cancer prevention into accurate, engaging, and useful messages for the public. Today, 20 years on, Your Disease Risk has expanded from its initial four cancers to include 18 different tools designed for today’s users. This commentary reviews important moments and lessons learned in the first two decades of Your Disease Risk.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Quelch ◽  
Margaret L. Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
The Public ◽  
Benefits And Costs

Every company has a public health footprint and should strive to insure that this is as positive as possible. The public health footprint stems from (a) the benefits and costs associated with using the company’s products and service, (b) the wellness of the company’s direct employees and those workers engaged in the company’s supply chain, and (c) the environmental impact of the company’s activities.

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