Design of a Relative Risk Model Regional-Scale Risk Assessment with Confirmational Sampling for the Willamette and McKenzie Rivers, Oregon

Design of a Relative Risk Model Regional-Scale Risk Assessment with Confirmational Sampling for the Willamette and McKenzie Rivers, Oregon
Author: M. Luxon
Publisher:
Total Pages: 22
Release: 2000
Genre: Ecological risk assessment
ISBN:

The estimation of regional risks due to multiple Stressors is a frontier in environmental toxicology and risk assessment. We are conducting a regional scale ecological risk assessment of multiple Stressors in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. The Willamette River drains an extensive agricultural area and forests of both the Coastal and Cascades mountains. The river also receives effluents from paper mills and urban wastewater treatment facilities. A major tributary of the Willamette is the McKenzie River. The McKenzie watershed, which extends into the Cascade Mountains, is extensively forested. Stressors in this watershed include alterations in the landscape due to the harvest of trees, the infrastructure required for the logging, modification of the river or stream banks, and inputs due to contamination by localized urban and non-point sources. We are using the relative risk model (RRM) for ecological risk assessment developed by Wiegers, Landis, and colleagues to combine multiple Stressors and receptors in a regional context. The first step in the RRM process is the establishment of assessment endpoints for the particular area and the placement of the endpoints in the landscape. Next, the method involves the development of risk matrices that combine diverse Stressors and habitats within the region with numerical ranks. We have broken the McKenzie and Willamette watershed study areas into 13 risk regions and have mapped the locations of the point sources and are incorporating land use data. Using a variety of documents we have established the assessment space and are developing criteria for ranking Stressors and habitats. We have also initiated a 3-year field research activity to confirm the risk predictions within the main channel. The sampling sites correspond to the risk regions of the RRM. The sampling program will characterize the population density and structure of the fish assemblage and measuring the health of the individual fish.

Regional Scale Ecological Risk Assessment

Regional Scale Ecological Risk Assessment
Author: Wayne G. Landis
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2004-11-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780203498354

As debates over how relative risk can be used to shape landscape-scale environmental management intensify, Regional-Scale Risk Assessment demonstrates the capabilities of RRM using nine case studies in the Pacific Northwest, Pennsylvania, Brazil, and Tasmania. The authors use a process of ranking and filters to interrelate different kinds of risks

Environmental Risk Assessment and Management from a Landscape Perspective

Environmental Risk Assessment and Management from a Landscape Perspective
Author: Lawrence A. Kapustka
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2010-07-15
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0470593016

An important guide to assessing and managing the environment from a landscape perspective Ecological relationships are nested within the landscape. Identifying the relevant spatial and temporal scales is critical for an effective understanding of ecological functions that human societies depend upon. Moreover, human encroachment into natural areas, or changes in climate, can alter spatial relationships, which in turn can negatively affect vital plant and wildlife patterns—and weaken economic structures needed to sustain human societies. This book is the first to combine multiple disciplines into one cohesive strategy to study these crucial connections, and looks toward building a social paradigm that embraces the dynamics of ecological systems. This book: Integrates landscape ecology, environmental risk assessment, valuation of ecological goods and services, and environmental management decision processes into one single source Includes chapters on quantitative measures, Bayesian modeling,¿economic analysis, and sustainable landscapes Covers marine, forest, agricultural, and pharmaceutical risk assessment Has a chapter on predicting climate change risk to ecosystems Has a companion ftp site with color graphics, animations, and risk assessment tools With material that is accessible across all knowledge levels, Environmental Risk Assessment and Management from a Landscape Perspective moves beyond looking solely at chemical contaminants to diagnose environmental threats, and aims to accomplish practical risk assessment in a manner that supports long-term sustainable management.

Science and Decisions

Science and Decisions
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 422
Release: 2009-03-24
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0309120462

Risk assessment has become a dominant public policy tool for making choices, based on limited resources, to protect public health and the environment. It has been instrumental to the mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as other federal agencies in evaluating public health concerns, informing regulatory and technological decisions, prioritizing research needs and funding, and in developing approaches for cost-benefit analysis. However, risk assessment is at a crossroads. Despite advances in the field, risk assessment faces a number of significant challenges including lengthy delays in making complex decisions; lack of data leading to significant uncertainty in risk assessments; and many chemicals in the marketplace that have not been evaluated and emerging agents requiring assessment. Science and Decisions makes practical scientific and technical recommendations to address these challenges. This book is a complement to the widely used 1983 National Academies book, Risk Assessment in the Federal Government (also known as the Red Book). The earlier book established a framework for the concepts and conduct of risk assessment that has been adopted by numerous expert committees, regulatory agencies, and public health institutions. The new book embeds these concepts within a broader framework for risk-based decision-making. Together, these are essential references for those working in the regulatory and public health fields.

Regional Scale Ecological Risk Assessment

Regional Scale Ecological Risk Assessment
Author: Taylor & Francis Group
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2020-06-30
Genre:
ISBN: 9780367578244

Addressing large-scale and comparative risks at the landscape level, this book focuses on assessments using the Relative Risk Model (RRM) pioneered over the last seven years, and includes case-studies from around the world.