Nature itself presents hazards to human health, including disease, natural poisons, and radiation. Regulators use a process called environmental risk assessment to decide whether they need to take risk management steps in relation to a risk. In this activity, you will carry out three steps of an environmental risk assessment called release analysis, exposure analysis, and health effects analysis. This activity will require outside research in addition to the textbook and will set the stage for a larger assignment in Week 4.
Instructions
Write a 1–2 page paper using the following instructions.
Select an environmental risk that occurs in nature, and research information about its release, exposure scenarios, and health effects. The specific data in each area of the analysis will depend on the environmental risk you choose. Write at least one paragraph for each analysis:
Release Analysis: Identify the contaminant, and how it is released, measured, or detected. Include units of measurement, setting for the release, and scientific fields related to the contamination or measurement.
Exposure Analysis: Analyze the risk of exposure such as settings in which people encounter the risk or plausible scenarios in which exposure occurs.
Health Effects Analysis: Estimate the risks to human health, including short and long-term effects, demographic groups at risk, and health effects on individuals and populations.