Risk assessment and management - Essay Example

RISK ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT CONTENTS Introduction Different risk management tools: 2 Stakeholders 3 Preventive measures 4 Clean Production 4 Conclusion 9 References 10 1 RISK ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT Introduction: Risk management is an activity which is directed towards evaluating, extenuating to a satisfactory level, and supervising them. The acceptable risk in certain cases may sometimes be near zero. Business related risks and their assessments in the United Kingdom are carried out based on the principles laid down by 'The Institute of Risk Management' (IRM). The institute of Risk management is the professional education body in risk management. Established as a not-for-profit organisation, the Institute is governed by practicing risk professionals and has strong links to leading universities and business schools across the world. Recognising that risk management is a multi-disciplinary field, the IRM also works closely with many other specialist institutes and associations, and seeks to represent an increasingly broad and diverse set of stakeholders. The worldwide membership is drawn from industry, commerce, consultancy and the public sector, and members have backgrounds in many different risk-related disciplines. (http://www. theirm.org). Formaldehyde (FA) is an industrial chemical used for manufacturing building materials and household products. It is also found in automobile emissions and tobacco smoke. Inhalation of FA induces sensory irritation at relatively low concentrations in experimental animals as well as in humans (Alexandersson and Hedenstierna 1988; Kane and Alarie 1977). 2 Different risk management tools: The different risk management tools which the management can use to reduce risk in the manufacture and transportation of formaldehyde is: (Ackley 1980, Bosseau et al 1992). The company has to implement the regulations laid out by the concerned body and has to try to establish a form of quality assurance (Internal Control) to ensure that they are actually implemented. This includes responsibility for characterising exposure, performing proper risk assessment of conditions and taking the necessary preventive measures. Their tools are: - To keep account of their own risks, risk assessment and prevailing regulations - To establish internal goals for work environments based on risk assessment - To keep the employees informed and instructed, to have sufficient knowledge available to manage risks and ensure that the employees participate in the Health and Safety (H&S)-work. - To assess dangers and problems, measure exposure if necessary The company also has to carry out preventive measures like: - Substitution of chemicals, products, methods or processes - Technical measures (encapsulation, confinement, exhaust devices) - Organisational measures - Hygienic measures (clothing, availability of lockers and showers etc) - Providing personal protective equipment (PPE) - Perform internal audits, in form of verifications as well as revisions, surveillance 3 - Evaluation of preventive measures Stakeholders: Stakeholders should also be involved in the risk management in production and transportation of Formaldehyde so that a transparent and effective process is ensured. When stakeholders are involved, it gives them a chance to take part in the interactive exchange of information and opinion about risk. It also helps to connect gaps in understanding, to add to the distribution of values and perceptions, and to assist the exchange of information and thoughts that allow all parties to make knowledgeable decisions. (http://www.fao.org/docrep). According to the European Chemicals Bureau, elimination should be the main objective. But since the manufacture of Formaldehyde and its transportation is the main reason of survival of the company, it can adopt by taking preventive measures and implementing it. (European Chemicals Bureau http://ecb.jrc.it/existing-chemicals/) Prevention measures should concentrate first on the cause of emission: Do away with risks: Less risky situations can be ensured by bringing in changes in the productive process or substitution of dangerous substances; Decrease and limit risks by taking measures at the source of the exposure such as isolation, aspiration, ventilation systems, and other actions; And finally, protection of workers, in case the risks are not fully eliminated, or properly reduced and controlled. The worker has to be provided with individual protective equipment. Sometimes a combination of the three prevention measures above-mentioned may be required. 4 If at all these preventive measures cannot be taken, then the risk is not fully eliminated or it can be said that it is not at a minimally acceptable degree. Technical evaluations in the form of tests to workers and the workplace environment should be done to compare the actual exposure in the workplace with threshold limit values (TLV). If TLV are exceeded, corrective measures should be demanded. TLV are thus good tools for practical action. However, exposure below the TLV does not fully guarantee safety, and prevention measures still need to be implemented. The preferred strategy should be first and foremost that of anticipating and preventing the release rather than relying on an after-the-fact approach based on remediation and treatment like the company had already faced some three years ago. Preventive measures: Following preventive measures should also be adopted: Calling for a proper regulation of chemicals: Decisions are made by national authorities established only on scientific data or on the concerns of specific economic groups. Stakeholders are not involved, but workers and trade unions, are at the frontline of chemical exposure, and should thus have a real say on regulation of chemicals (Morris, 2000). Yet another measure which the management can take is that they can go in for Clean Production: Cleaner Production is the continuous application of an integrated preventive environmental strategy to processes, products, and services with a view to increasing overall efficiency, and reducing risks to humans and the environment. Cleaner Production 5 can be applied to the processes used in any industry, to products themselves and to various services provided in society (UNEP, 2001). - For production processes, Cleaner Production results from one or a combination of raw materials, water and energy; eliminating toxic and dangerous raw materials; and reducing the quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wastes at source during the production process; - For products, Cleaner Production aims to reduce the environmental, health and safety impacts of products over their entire life cycles, from raw materials extraction, through manufacturing and use, to the "ultimate" disposal of the product; and - For services, Cleaner Production implies incorporating environmental concerns into designing and delivering services. UNEP, http://www.uneptie.org/pc/cp /understanding_cp/ home.htm#definition (last accessed 16 March 2007) The environmental problem is also a question of justice: (Eurostat 2004) It is obligatory to reflect on and treat the interrelationships among the numerous environmental problems such as atmospheric and water contamination, land degradation, climate change and biodiversity loss. Similarly the environment has to be connected in the broader scope of issues and should be linked to the susceptibility and welfare of human beings, particularly those who are suffering from extreme poverty and hunger. In some cases, those who induced pollution do not suffer from the worst effects of their feckless environmental posture. Instead, population that had nothing to do with it will be the most affected. Sometimes chemical contamination affects places which are 6 very far away from the source of contamination. Likewise, some outcomes may have a global outreach -such as climate change- which severely affects the lives of human beings and other species which are not responsible in the polluting emissions. This unjust allocation of environmental penalty can result from natural process like wind directions and sea currents or the physical characteristics of a region. At the same time there are also elements which are directly linked to the systems of production and consumption of modern societies. (Eurostat, 2004) Thus, poor communities in growing countries are more exposed to the consequences of climate change since they are most likely settled on more dangerous lands, with little -if any- technological, financial and human resources to help them adapt. In the precise case of chemical contamination, the greater contact of poorer populations to pollution is very concrete. Even though developed countries are still the biggest producers and consumers of chemical products, in the last few decades the most contaminating production activities have been moved to those countries that are still in the process of development. For example, approximately 60% of the current metal production plants are located in developing countries while developed countries would rather import those metals than produce them. This transfer of production has not always been accompanied by means of control or the necessary technological, human or financial resources. This, in turn, increases the risks of further emissions of dangerous chemical products into the environment. Likewise, within each country, poorer communities are usually more exposed to those risks. Their communities are often situated in industrial areas or near smaller 7 polluting businesses like foundries, mines, agricultural zones and toxic landfills where they are exposed to genuine chemical cocktails. Additionally, most industrial areas and abandoned factories can be found in poor communities where they often serve as shelter for the homeless. Along with the transference of polluting industries, the transference of hazardous wastes from industrialized countries to developing ones is also common practice. The same happens with some recycling activities such as the dismantling of ships or electronic appliances, both of which have proven highly contaminating. (Eurostat, 2004) There is a preferred hierarchy of exposure information: In the report of European Commission it was stated that "Information that is available and which describes the nature of an individual's exposure to the substance (for example that obtained via personal exposure or biological monitoring) should play a more significant role in exposure assessment than data that may be available from similar substances or activities (often described as surrogate or analogous information). In turn, surrogate or analogous sources are likely to be more representative of personal exposures to a substance than those which have been estimated empirically or derived from models. ( European Commission, 1996 )." For instance, when data has been found using familiar protocols which are backed by core information accounting key exposure determinants (Rajan et al., 1996), then this will provide a high level of confidence. 8 The greater the confidence in the exposure estimate, the greater the confidence generated in the resultant risk assessment outcomes: The exposure assessment process is not undertaken in isolation. It is undertaken to support risk assessments that, in turn, result in appropriate risk management outcomes and actions. The more that is known about exposure, the greater will be the confidence that the exposure assessment will be fully representative (Jantunen, 1998). According to the report of European Commission: "Such an approach is again consistent with aspects of occupational hygiene practice typically used to evaluate workplace health risks. It also reflects the role that scientific knowledge has in determining the extent to which cautionary approaches to the assessment and management of health risks need to be recognized" (European Commission, 2001). 9 Conclusion: Even though there has been a lot said and done in the area of human exposures to the production and transportation of Formaldehyde but still there remains a lot to be understood and done. The need for following better techniques to access the risks that evolves from the production, use and disposal of chemicals will remain at an increased level. There are many informations which are readily available which can be easily adopted to protect the environment, society, human which comes in for more harassment through the dangers of chemical production and transportation. The degree of uncertainty has to be understood by the decision makers of a company and the production process has to be undertaken accordingly. Of course unanticipated risks are always there but decisions have to be based with the judgment as to what is acceptable and what is not. The information relating to exposure and the measures taken should bring out the final result which is both scientifically valid and also practically relevant. 10 Reference: 1. British Standards Institute. 2001. BS IEC 62198:2001 Project risk management - Application guidelines. Published by British Standards Institute, London, UK. ISBN 0-580-390195. 2. Alexandersson, R; Hedenstierna, G 1988, Respiratory hazards associated with exposure to formaldehyde and solvents in acid-curing paints. Arch Environ Health.; 43:222-227. 3. http://www.formaldehyde-europe.org/fileadmin/ formaldehyde /PDF/ Formaldehyde22092000.pdf 4. European Chemicals Bureau http://ecb.jrc.it/existing-chemicals/ 5. UNEP. Sustainable Production and Consumption Branch. "Cleaner production: key elements" http://www.uneptie.org/pc/cp/understanding_cp/ home.htm#definition (last accessed 19 December 2007) 6. European Commission. (1996) Technical guidance document in support of Commission Directive 93/67/EEC on Risk Assessment for New Notified Substances and Commission Regulation No. 1488/94 on Risk Assessment for Existing Substances. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 7. Jantunen MJ. (1998) Assessing the benefits and costs of air pollution research: benzene exposure in the San Francisco Bay area. Atmos Environ; 32: 1135-6. 8. European Commission. (2001) White Paper on the Strategy for a Future Chemicals Policy, Document COM(2001)88. Brussels: European Commission (further information at http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/ environment/ chemicals/whitepaper.htm). 9. Rajan B, et al. (1996) Occupational exposure databases: a proposal for core information for workplace exposure measurements on chemical agents. Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. 10. EEC. (1989) Council Directive 89/391/EEC on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the health and safety of workers. Official Journal; 29 June: L196. Read More