Environmental Issues - Research Proposal Example

Environmental risk assessment Introduction Risk assessment practices applied within the realm of environmental issues are aimed at tackling concerns such as the cleanup of hazardous wastes, evaluating the discharge of air and water, forest, water and land management as well as for the development of standards and guidelines for environmental quality and protection. As such, the field of environmental risk assessment is quite inter-disciplinary and is evolving rapidly despite numerous discrepancies and uncertainties in the assessment practices and limitations associated with the data (Glasser, 2006). However, risk evaluation and management techniques are widely employed and are constantly regulated by various domestic and international regulatory agencies. However, there is also an elaborate need for creation and use of environmental data, improvement of existing assessment methods and building upon the insights obtained from meetings with key decision makers as well as members of the general public in order to improve the protocols and managerial practices of environmental risk assessment. This paper will discuss the importance of environmental risk assessment within the context of project management by evaluating a previous case study titled – ‘Assessing exposure to pedogenic arsenic contamination at a dwelling in Northamptonshire, UK’ by Nathanail, McCaffrey and Haynes (2006). The primary goal of the study was to investigate any potential relation between the concentration of arsenic in the soil and the general health of a residential area in a locality based in Northamptonshire, England. The study was motivated by earlier studies on the same area which concluded the presence of high levels of toxic arsenic in the region. Risk assessment standards The researchers have taken a risk driven approach to assess the land acknowledged to have contamination. One of the initial outcomes from the description points to the high degree of adoption of general environmental frameworks and guidelines developed by the local administration, which in this case is the government in the UK. The study has followed the well proven contaminant-pathway-receptor framework to ascertain the existence of any linkages to pollutants (Covello, 2008). In fact, the core part of the study appears to have been driven by the basic guidelines of the framework which also specifies the important criteria that need to be established for any pollutant linkages to exist. Thus, the researchers have chosen to implement an established mechanism to identify a specific research question in this context. The group has further demonstrated the importance of adhering to documented guidelines prescribed by bodies such as the Environment Agency and NHBC by strictly following the stipulated qualitative practices. General risk assessment practices can be divided into the following stages (Whyte, 2009): Hazard identification Hazard assessment Risk estimation Risk evaluation. By following these established procedures throughout the study, the research group has demonstrated the importance of conforming to recognized standards (Robson, 2007). Such practices assume further significance in a diverse area such as risk assessment as the information from such studies will most often be utilized for many subsequent studies. In such instances, uniformity in the outcome will ensure the easy understanding and wide applicability of available information. Risk assessment within projects The earliest application of risk assessment concepts within environmental projects is focused upon developing focus and consensus over the research question and its primary considerations. Without an overview of the key focus areas, it is impossible to pool further information and arrive at useful inferences. In the chosen case study, the researchers have achieved thus by identifying all potential sources for arsenic contamination (Robson, 2007). Moreover, the group has taken note of previous information on the presence of arsenic in the area and has studied the reasons for this abnormal concentration leading to the identification of past events in the area that could have led to these results. This phase can be denoted as the data gathering phase of a project whereby the aim is to collect as much information as possible on past discoveries and local history to identify all activities and trends pertaining to the target area and populace. Once again, this data gathering effort can be placed under the stage of hazard assessment under environmental risk assessment as mentioned above. Analysis The study has also emphasized the need for source characterization with an environmental project that began with the identification of a hazard in terms of the chemical substances (mainly arsenic). It further highlights the importance of extending risk assessment towards contaminated sites, pollution sources, potential uses as well as transportation methods of the toxic substances. Thus, source identification and monitoring has served as an essential part of this analysis (Bachkin, 2006). Another important focus of the analysis has been to assess the contaminant concentration and ascertain the level of toxicity for each individual contaminant. This shows the relevance of comparing the actual and allowed level of exposure to humans of the toxic chemical depending on the local consumption and exposure patterns. In this context, the significance of collecting the latest information from surveys and direct observation has been encountered from the case study. Obtaining this latest information and using it primarily for inferential purposes has helped outline the latest trends in the contamination levels of arsenic in the area, which in turn has facilitated an explanation of the toxic dangers and related mechanisms to overcome the hazards posed based on the concentration and extent of the harmful substance (Calow, 1998). Thus, information from previous studies must only be used for purposed of guidance and maintaining critical oversight over the boundaries of the project. The study has also demonstrated the need to ascertain and manage the uncertainties related to monitoring information. This could possibly have been enhanced through the use of statistical methods instead of focusing on the mere analysis of contaminant concentrations. In fact, these measurements can be used to construct probability models for every identifiable parameter that can facilitate the generation of a broad understanding of the impact of contaminants on the human body in addition to the environment. This is possible as a probability based evaluation scenario can be used to develop models that can be applied to study the effects on wider areas and larger populations (Bachkin, 2006). Conclusion The analysis of the case study from the perspective of risk assessment within environmental projects has established the importance of the former in any kind of such studies. In fact, the application of risk management in such studies will ultimately help determine whether inherent management procedures must be put into effect for achieving the desired changes. Risk assessment is however restricted to the specific site or region to which the associated information is confined. The outcomes of such assessments cannot be extended into other areas unless the local factors of these other regions are not included into the assessment framework. Finally, the case study shows that it is possible to develop a wide array of recommendations to the research issue using a mix of risk assessment practices. References 1. Bachkin (2006), Modern biogeochemistry: environmental risk assessment. London: Routledge. 2. Calow (1998), Handbook of environmental risk assessment and management. New York: Wiley-Blackwell. 3. Covello (2008), Risk assessment methods: approaches for assessing health and environmental risks. New York: Springer. 4. Glasser (2006), Environmental risk assessment: quantitative measures, anthropogenic influences, human impact. Berlin: Birkhauser. 5. Robson (2007), Risk assessment for environmental health. Chicago: John Wiley. 6. Whyte (2009), Environmental risk assessment. University of California. Read More