Research & Development

How ORD is Organized Around the “Risk Assessment / Risk Management Paradigm”

To understand ORD's research program, it helps to be familiar with the “risk paradigm,” an important Agency organizing principle. The risk paradigm consists of two interrelated phases, risk assessment and risk management.

• Risk Assessment is the process used to evaluate the degree and probability of harm to human health and the environment from such stressors as pollution or habitat loss. The risk assessment process, as proposed by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1983, consists of:
  • Exposure Assessment - describing the populations or ecosystems exposed to stressors and the magnitude, duration, and spatial extent exposure
  • Hazard Identification - identifying adverse effects (e.g., short-term illness, cancer) that may occur from exposure to environmental stressors
  • Dose-Response Assessment - determining the toxicity or potency of stressors
  • Risk Characterization - using the data collected in the first three steps to estimate and describe the effects of human or ecological exposure to stressors
• Risk Management entails determining whether and how risks should be managed or reduced. It is based on the results of the risk assessment as well as other factors (e.g., public health, social, and economic factors). Risk management options include pollution prevention or control technologies to reduce or eliminate the pollutant or other stressor on the environment. The environmental or public health impacts resulting from risk management decisions must then be monitored so that any necessary adjustments can be made.

Related Links:

• The NAS Risk Assessment Paradigm