Risk Assessment, Toxicology and Standards

What are the major components of risk?

http://www.epa.gov/oswer/riskassessment/superfund_hh_characterization.htm#external
Above is a link to some risk assessment material at EPA for Superfund.
This essentially describes their approach to communicating risk.
Read Browner's letter at the beginning of the risk characterization program material.

What is the difference between high end and bounding risks and worst case scenario?

What are some of the descriptors for population risk, i.e. how do we describe risk for a population?

Look at the Risk Assessment Guidance for Superfund: Volume I -- Human Health Evaluation Manual. Part A addresses the baseline risk assessment; Part B addresses the development of risk-based preliminary remediation goals; Part C addresses the human health risk evaluations of remedial alternatives, Part D provides guidance on risk assessment planning, reporting, and review throughout the CERCLA remedial process, from scoping through remedy selection and completion and periodic review of the remedial action; and Part E addresses dermal exposure..

Under RAGS A Data Collection look at Exhibit 4-1 and 4-2. What do these tell us?
What information is needed for a preliminary identification of human exposure?
Notice that the majority of the information is about sampling strategies for air, water, and soil.

Notice they also have two guidebooks on wildlife exposure.
http://www.epa.gov/oswer/riskassessment/superfund_stressor.htm
What is Risk Management?
One thing that has come about because of UST work is RBCA (RBDM). What is this? How does it work?
http://www.epa.gov/swerust1/directiv/od961017.htm

TCEQ has finalized its Guidance for Conducting Ecological Risk Assessments at Remediation Sites in Texas
http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/assets/public/remediation/eco/0106eragupdate.pdf
http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/comm_exec/forms_pubs/pubs/rg/rg-263_189521.pdf

What is an ERA?

Pg 5, 11, 13 shows general overview.
What happens at Tier 1, 2 3?
What is a sensitive environment? Table 2-1

Review case study pg 22-23

Look at Section 3.6
What are some of these terms: ecological community, feeding-guilds, representative species?
What is not covered under this section?
How do we measure effect on a community?
What are the phases of an ecological risk assessment (screening level)?

Setting acceptable risk
What are Standards?
What are the two Standard Types?
What actually constitutes a violation of a standard or action level.?
Is one sample analysis, two analyses, 10% of the analyses for the year a violation?
How many locations are to be sampled?
Does the standard apply to monitoring wells, public water supply wells, tile lines?
If it is applied to tile lines should a violation be twice the standard, five times the standard or a percent of samples for the year?

How do Federal Programs Use Standards

Toxicology
What are acute versus chronic effects?
How do we determine chemical toxicity? Develop dose-response curves?
What is LD50, LC50, ED50?
What are the 3 or 4 phases of toxicant action?
What factors affect toxicity?
What are the types of systemic toxicity?
What is epidemiology?
What kind of studies are there?