Application Of Risk Assessment Techniques Research Articles

Towards quality assurance of assessed waterborne risks

An exploratory “proof of concept” application of a quality assurance framework for auditing the strength of the outputs of waterborne risk assessments is presented. The need for such a framework is established with reference to the rapid growth in the application of risk assessment techniques in the water sector and in the light of manifest uncertainties in their results. The components of a proposed quality assurance framework are introduced. The framework is applied to two case studies: Cryptosporidium in raw water and copper in treated drinking water. The differing outcomes in these two areas are evaluated and it is concluded that the framework provides a significant step forward by way of a formal tool for the representation of uncertainties in knowledge about waterborne risk.

Potential Application of Risk Assessment Techniques to Microbiological Issues Related to International Trade in Food and Food Products

One of the components of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement that will have far-reaching effects on International trade in foods and food products is the requirement for countries to provide risk assessments as part of the process of resolving disputes that involve food safety issues. Risk assessment is a means of evaluating the likelihood and impact of hazards. It provides a framework for systematically considering available data, providing rationales for assumptions, and identifying areas where additional information is needed. While the application of quantitative risk assessment techniques to microbial food safety has been limited, recent studies have increasingly demonstrated its feasibility. Quantitative risk assessment is particularly well suited for use with the hazard analysis critical control point and appears to have potential as an approach for comparing the equivalence of international food safety programs and inspection systems.

A risk assessment of landscape hazards for building sites in the Front Range mountains of Colorado

Abstract Predictive spatial modelling is becoming an integral part of landscape planning. One emerging modelling approach is risk assessment. This paper illustrates the application of risk assessment techniques within a regional context for landscape planning and design, as urban development expands into mountainous building environments. The investigation examines the susceptibility of building sites in a portion of the Front Range mountains of Colorado/Wyoming to catastrophic disturbance by four landscape hazards: flooding, rockfall, fire and avalanche. A hazard rating model is applied to a portion of the Front Range, the Pingree Park vicinity, by employing geographic information system technology. We discovered that, below the tree‐line, approximately 75% of the landscape contained a high risk rating and the remaining portion a moderate risk rating. This study implies that there is no long‐term, safe building site in the study area. Assuming that the Pingree Park vicinity is a representative sample of ...

Health effects associated with wastewater treatment, disposal, and reuse

and transfer of fecal indicator organisms (coliforms, enterococci, sulphite-reducing clostridia, and coliphages) downstream of a wastewater treatment plant were investigated at Lake Kallavesi, Finland (R?jala and Heinonen-Tanski, 1998). The observation of indicator organisms up to 18 km from the discharge point and good survival in the summer suggested that direct use of lake water could constitute a health risk. The effect of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) on the occur rence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium was investigated (Gibson et al., 1998). The results suggested that CSOs significantly contribute to the load of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in ambient waters and source waters for drinking and recreational uses. An outbreak of waterborne giardiasis in Temagami, Ontario, in 1994 was assessed (Wallis et al., 1998). The outbreak was traced to leakage from the municipal wastewater system into the lake and exacerbated by spring snow-melt runoff. The influence of rainwater on the con centration of helminth eggs in wastewater was investigated (Capizzi and Schwartzbrod, 1998). Concentrations of parasite eggs vary according to water flow rates and sedimentation; heavy rain following rainless days yielded higher concentrations in raw wastewater at the treatment plant, whereas continuous moderate rain resulted in low variation of parasite eggs. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms, skin disorders, status of spirometric lung functions, and amino acid profiles among wastewater workers were reported (Bener et al., 1998). Wastewa ter workers had a higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms than controls, significant for chronic cough (p < 0.02), chronic phlegm (p < 0.03), chronic bronchitis (p < 0.02), asthma (p < 0.02), dyspneoa (p < 0.001), and nasal catarrh (p < 0.001) and acute symptoms of pruritus (p < 0.003), tinea (p < 0.004), dermatitis (p < 0.001), and nose irritation (p < 0.005). Spirometry tests scored lower in wastewater workers, and most of the plasma amino acids concentrations were elevated among wastewater workers. An investigation examining whether inadequate septic system construction may cause contamination of wells with coliform bacteria or nitrates was reported (Tuthill et al., 1998). The authors found that coliform bacteria and nitrate contamination were neg atively correlated with lot size, and coliform bacteria levels were negatively correlated with casing length, which suggested that septic systems may be a source of coliform bacteria and nitrate contamination in wells. CONTAMINATION OF WATER SUPPLIES

The Application of Risk Assessment Techniques to Microbial Monitoring Data: A South African Perspective

The feasibility of applying microbial risk assessment techniques in South Africa was evaluated by assessing risks associated with enteric viruses in raw and treated drinking water. Maximum daily risks associated with treated drinking water were in the range 2×10−2 − 7×10−1. If levels of viruses in treated drinking water were approximated from those in raw water by assuming reductions during treatmentof 4 log, Slog and 6 log, maximum daily risk estimates were 4×10−2 - 4×10−1, 5×10−3 - 1×10−1 and 5×10−4 - 1×10−2, respectively. A number of complicating factors were identified. Detection limits were high and volumes of water monitored were low. There was no information on viral pathogen removal during treatment. Application of risk assessment techniques within these limitations clearly showed the volume of water monitored to be the most important factor limiting detection of low risk levels. The sampling and concentration of large water volumes (at least 100ℓ) for microbial analysis was identified as an urgent need.

Technical Risk Assessment: Some Observations

Abstract If one could accurately and impartially assess a program's technical risk, many long standing problems in acquisition management could be eliminated or, at least, greatly mitigated. This widely recognized fact has led to a significant amount of research in this field. Progress in the application of risk assessment techniques has been limited though, especially in the area of quantitative risk. In this paper we will discuss some of the history of technical risk analysis in our defense establishment and its present status. We will discuss the problems inherent in its quantification and present the qualitative procedures we are presently using.

Risk assessment

The question of how risky it is to live near a nuclear reactor or an industrial complex is discussed. The concept of risk and risk assessment is introduced. The methods of estimating the two components of risk (frequency and consequences) are summarised and the application of risk assessment techniques to a nuclear reactor and an industrial complex is summarised. It is concluded that the former is much safer than the latter. However, the more important conclusion is that both the reactor and the industrial complex add only a small and arguably insignificant amount to the individual and societal risks which all of us run in any case