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Environmental Risk Assessment

Version 2 – April 2013

Introduction
This paper summarises some of the basic principles and uses of
environmental risk assessment. The information is based mainly on two
This Note was produced by a
sources, the Guidelines for Environmental Risk Assessment and Working Party of the Environment,
Management – Green Leaves III published by the Department for Health and Safety Committee
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Environmental Risk [EHSC] of the Royal Society of
Assessment – Approaches, Experiences and Information Sources published Chemistry.
by the European Environment Agency. Given the wide-ranging nature of
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environmental risk assessment a large amount of other, more detailed,
Its Royal Charter obliges it to serve
information and guidance is available for specific situations. Examples of the public interest by acting in an
such guidance (non-exhaustive) are given in the reading list, and the reader independent advisory capacity. In
is directed to these for further information. order to meet this obligation the
members of the EHSC are drawn
What is environmental risk assessment? from a wide range of backgrounds
and serve on the committee as
In order to understand what is meant by environmental risk assessment it is individual experts and not as
important to be familiar with the concepts of hazard and risk. These terms representatives of their employer.
have different meanings and are not interchangeable. The following
The EHSC welcomes comments on
definitions are used here.
this Note. Please send your
comments to:
Hazard: is the inherent potential for something to cause harm.
Hazards can include substances, machines, energy forms, The Secretary
or the way work is carried out. Environment, Health and Safety
Committee,
Risk: is a combination of the likelihood or probability that the Royal Society of Chemistry
hazard will cause actual harm and the severity of the Burlington House
consequences. . Piccadilly
London
In general, the term environmental covers the physical surroundings that are W1J 0BA
common to everybody including air, water, land, plants and wildlife. The
definition used in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 is that the Tel: +44 (0) 207 440 3337
environment '... consists of all, or any, of the following media, namely the air, Fax: +44 (0)207 734 1227
water and land'.
Email: [email protected]
Thus environmental risk assessment covers the risk to all ecosystems,
April 2013
including humans, exposed via, or impacted via, these media. The term
environmental risk assessment does not normally cover the risks to
individuals or the general public at large from consumer products or from
exposure in the work place, where other specific legislation applies.

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Stages in carrying out an environmental risk assessment

Before carrying out an environmental risk assessment it is important to clearly set out the problem being
addressed and the boundaries within which any decisions on environmental risk are to be made. This is
sometimes known as problem formulation and can typically define the risk of what, to whom (or which part
of the environment), where (location) and when (in time). This can also assist in selecting the level and types
of assessment methodology to be used in the environmental risk assessment itself.
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Environmental risk assessment can be thought of as containing the following key stages .

1. Hazard identification. This would typically include identification of the property or situation that
could lead to harm.

2. Identification of the consequences if the hazard was to occur.

3. Estimation of the magnitude of the consequences. This can include consideration of the spatial and
temporal scale of the consequences and the time to onset of the consequences. When
considering chemicals, this step can sometimes be termed release assessment.

4. Estimation of the probability of the consequences. There are three components to this, the
presence of the hazard, the probability of the receptors being exposed to the hazard and the
probability of harm resulting from exposure to the hazard. This step can sometimes be called
exposure assessment or consequence assessment.

5. Evaluating the significance of a risk (often termed risk characterisation or risk estimation) is the
product of the likelihood of the hazard being realised and the severity of the consequences. This
step may also consider the uncertainty associated with both the hazard and the risk.

A concept frequently used in environmental risk assessment is that of the source – pathway – receptor. In
this conceptual model the pathway between a hazard source (for example a source of contamination) and a
receptor (for example a particular ecosystem) is investigated. The pathway is the linkage by which the
receptor could come into contact with the source (a number of pathways often need to be considered). If no
pathway exists then no risk exists. If a pathway exists linking the source to the receptor, then the
consequences of this are determined. This approach is used in the assessment of contaminated land, but
can be, and is, applied to many other areas. An EHSC note is available on the assessment of contaminated
land (see bibliography).
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Note: There is a wide range of different terminologies used in this area. However, most of the different terminologies can normally be
related to one of these steps.

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Example Sources Example Pathways Example Receptors

 Contaminated soils  Air  People

 Contaminated water  Water  Domestic and
 Leaking drums  Soil commercial property
 Industrial process  Food chain  Infrastructure
releases  Ecosystems
 Animals
 Plants
 Controlled waters

At the end of the risk assessment process, existing controls should be recorded and further measures may
need to be considered to reduce or eliminate the risks identified. Detailed consideration of risk management
is beyond the scope of this paper but, in general terms, risk management can be achieved by reducing or
modifying the source, by managing or breaking the pathway and/or modifying the receptor.

The final stage is the evaluation of the significance of the risk which involves placing it in a context, for
example with respect to an environmental standard or other criterion defined in legislation, statutory or good
practice guidance.

The amount of effort and detail required in assessing each risk can vary widely, but is generally
proportionate to its priority and complexity. Thus environmental risk assessments can be carried out on
several levels. An example of a relatively common, simplistic, approach based on a risk ranking matrix is
shown below. The meanings of high, medium, low and very low can be determined in various ways, for
example using a descriptive or numerical scale, or often based on expert judgement. Once risks have been
identified, the matrix allows the relative importance to be easily determined, and the risk can then be
prioritised and an appropriate risk management strategy or plan can be implemented. Other relatively simple
approaches include the use of assessment sheets whereby the materials and activities are listed, and any
potential impacts for the environment are described.

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Consequences of hazard being realised

High Medium risk Medium risk High risk High Risk

Medium Low risk Medium risk Medium risk High Risk



Low Low risk Low risk Medium risk Medium risk

Very low Very low risk Low risk Low risk Medium risk

Very low Low risk Medium High

Likelihood of hazard being realised 

In more complex cases, it may be appropriate to use quantitative risk assessment approaches. Such
approaches can define the pathway and consequences using modelling/estimation techniques that allow
the level of exposure of a receptor, and the consequences to the receptor, to be better determined. In some
cases probabilistic models can be used to estimate the actual probability of risk occurring.

Uses of environmental risk assessment

There are a wide range of uses of environmental risk assessment and, although the specific methodology
and the responsibility for carrying out the assessment may vary, the core principles and the key stages of the
process are fundamentally the same in each case. There is a wide range of legislation that encompasses the
principles of environmental risk assessment in relation to chemicals. The European Environment Agency
(1998) publication lists some of these but the area is rapidly changing and it is impractical to provide a
complete list here. Specific guidance is often available for each piece of legislation. The principles of
environmental risk assessment are also applied in a number of other areas, for example flood protection,
noise pollution and planning.

Some examples of the use of environmental risk assessment are given below.

 Assessing the impacts of chemicals used at existing sites (for example for the Control of Major
Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations (1999), Environmental Permitting Regulations (2010) and
other similar legislation).

 Assessing the impacts of products generated by individual companies/sites due to their use or
transport etc.

 Assessing potential impacts of new developments, new sites or new processes as part of the
planning procedure (for example in relation to the Town and Country Planning Regulations (2011)).
This is often known as Environmental Impact Assessment or EIA.

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 Assessing the impacts of products, processes or services over their life cycle (life cycle assessment
or LCA). An EHSC note on LCA is available (see bibliography).

 Consideration of risks to the environment in a company’s environmental management system (EMS)

or eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS). Such schemes are based on continual
environmental improvement in which risk assessment plays an important part. An EHSC note is
available on EMS (see bibliography).

 Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation. Environmental risk

assessment is a key component of determining the safe use of chemicals under this legislation.

An EHSC note is available on individual legal and ethical responsibilities for environmental safety (see
references).

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Further Reading
Guidelines for Environmental Risk Assessment and Management – Green Leaves III. Defra and the
Collaborative Centre of Excellence in Understanding and Managing Natural and Environmental Risks,
Cranfield University, November 2011 (see http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/2011/11/07/green-leaves-iii-
pb13670/).

Environmental Risk Assessment – Approaches, Experiences and Information Sources. Environmental Issues
Report No. 4. Fairman R., Mead C. D. and Williams W. P., European Environment Agency, (see
http://reports.eea.europa.eu/GH-07-97-595-EN-C2/en/riskindex.html).

EHSC Note on Individual Legal and Ethical Responsibilities for Environmental Safety. Environment Health
and Safety Committee 2011. (see
http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Policy/EHSC/EnvironmentalSafety.asp).

EHSC Note on Environmental Management Systems. Environment Health and Safety Committee 2011. (see
http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Policy/EHSC/EMS.asp).

EHSC Note on Risk Assessment at Work. Environment Health and Safety Committee 2011. (see
http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Policy/EHSC/EHSCnotesonRiskAssessment.asp).

EHSC Note on Lifecycle Assessment. Environment Health and Safety Committee 2010. (see
http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Policy/EHSC/EHSCnotesonLifeCycleAssessment.asp).

EHSC Note on Contaminated Land. Environment Health and Safety Committee 2009. (see
http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Policy/EHSC/EHSCnotesonContaminatedLand.asp).

Chemicals in the Environment – Assessing and Managing the Risk. Hester R. E. and Harrison R. M. Royal
Society of Chemistry 2006.

Pollution Prevention Guidelines. These are published by the Environment Agency (see
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/pollution/39083.aspx).

The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011. Statutory
Instrument 2011 No. 1824.

Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. Statutory Instrument 2010 No 675.

The Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999. Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 743.

Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006
concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Official Journal
of the European Union, L396, p1-849.

This Note was produced by a working party of the Environment, Health and Safety Committee (EHSC) of the Royal Society
of Chemistry.

The members of the working party were: Dr I Wrightson (Chairman), SJ Cooper, Dr M Crookes, Dr N King, Dr P Lewis, J
Larner, Dr DH Lohmann, Dr C Maxwell, DM Sanderson, P Jackson, Dr S Whitehead, Dr C Grundy, Dr C Watts, Dr Steven
Lipworth and C Dempsey (Secretary).

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