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Newsletter and Technical Publications
<Technical Workbook on Environmental Management Tools for
Decision Analysis>
Training Module on Environmental Risk Assessment
(EnRA)
A. Module Objectives (Slide No. 1)
At the end of this module, participants shall be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of EnRA concepts, current practices and
significance to environment related decisions
- Show familiarity with the basic steps for doing an EnRA
- Explain how EnRA has been/can be applied to different risk scenarios or
situations with potential adverse environmental and safety effects
B. Module Implementation Plan:
| Activity |
Time Allotment |
Learner's Handouts |
Materials/Equipment Needed |
| Welcome and Introduction |
15 minutes |
Module objectives |
IDs, microphone, overhead projector & screen, "ice breaker"
materials |
| Intorductory Activity (Not in My Backyard) |
30 minutes |
One page scenario |
Board & board marker, paper & pins |
| Trainer's Inputs (lecturette), and Q and A |
45 minutes |
EM Tools Matrix
EnRA paper
Glossary of key terms |
Overhead projector & screen |
| Plenary Discussion |
30 minutes |
EnRA paper |
None |
Class Exercise:
(Site Selection for a Hazardous Waste Management Facility)
- Discussion (1 hr.)
- Preparation (30 mins.)
- Presentation (30 mins.)
|
120 minutes
(2 hours) |
Case Study |
None |
Reflection
(Verbal by group, or written individually) |
15 minutes |
|
Reflection questions on the board, individual paper and pens |
| Action Planning |
120 minutes
(2 hours) |
|
Individual paper and pens |
| On-Site EnRA Scoping Exercise |
1 day
(optional) |
|
Briefing materials for selected site |
| Course Evaluation |
15 minutes |
Course Evaluation Form |
Training certificates |
| Total Training Duration: 1 day (6-8 hours) to 2 days |
C. Suggested Introductory Activity: Not In My Backyard! (30 minutes)
- Have participants take turns introducing themselves. (Or choose from any of
the "ice-breakers" provided in the Annex)
- Divide the participants into small discussion groups of 4 to 6 persons (depending
on the total number of participants).
- Present the simple scenario described below (Slide No. 2) Ask the groups
to discuss their answers to three questions immediately following.
Scenario
Word has just reached you and 100 other households in your small community
that the local government has shortlisted a nearby area of modern approximately
50 hectares of idle government land as a potential site for a modern sanitary
landfill for medical waste and toxic substances. It will be the first such specialized
landfill in the country and will service the disposal needs of a major city that
is about 70 kms away, as well as other neighboring municipalities. It will feature
the latest advanced landfill technology and leachate monitoring system. The selected
site is considered ideal because it is said to have the appropriate soil conditions,
does not contain any delicate flora or faura ecosystem, is not located near any
water body nor in a densely populated area. The operation of a landfill will require
the construction of a well-paved road and will bring in additional income to the
municipality from disposal fees levied on entering dump trucks.
Your group will have the opportunity to air its concerns in a public hearing.
Discuss, therefore, your answers to these questions and select a spokesperson
for the group.
| Question 1: |
What can go wrong with the project? (i.e., what effects might
it have on human health and welfare and the environment during normal operations
and under unusual conditions?) |
| Question 2: |
What is the possible magnitude or severity of its adverse effects?
(e.g. potential number of persons and geographical area affected, monetary damage,
etc.) |
| Question 3: |
What is the likelihood of an adverse occurrence? |
|
- Make three columns on the board, corresponding to each of the three
questions. After 10 minutes of group discussion, solicit answers to each
question from the groups, and write these on the board.
D. Trainer's Input Guide
- Point out to the group that they have just gone through a simplified risk
assessment process.
- Solicit their understanding of the following key terms, and provide
operational definitions (Slide No. 3)
| RISK: |
the likelihood that a harmful consequence will occur as a result
of an action or condition. It is the combined evaluation of hazard and exposure. |
| HAZARD: |
the potential of an agent, stressor or source (physical, chemical
or biological) to cause harm or adverse effect to a receptor |
| EXPOSURE: |
the condition under which an organism comes into actual contact
with a stressor or hazard source |
- Emphasize the following key points from the EnRA paper by Dr. Marlito L.
Cardenas (in Part I of this workbook).
- With appropriate Risk Assessment, management is able to identify options to
minimize environmental impact and impacts to human, and to maximize
sustainability. EnRA, in particular, helps to identify critical environmental
parameters that will bear upon the decision whether and how to proceed. (Compare
this with a situation in which there is no risk assssment - Slide No. 4).
- Environmental Risk Assessment (EnRA) has two components: (Slide No. 5)
Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA): probable effects on human health and
welfare of chemical, biological, physical agents.
Ecological Risk Assessment (EcoRA): probable effects on environmental
conditions and natural resources of chemical, biological, physical agents.
Solicit or provide examples of chemical agents (e.g. pesticides, toxins),
biological agents (pests, weeds, organisms) and physical agents (floods,
erosion, climate), using the landfill case scenario.
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