US EPA

Risk assessment plays many important roles in addressing hazardous waste issues. In addition to providing a scientific framework and common health metric to evaluate risks. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or "Superfund") risk assessments have many specific uses. These include identifying the contaminants that present the greatest danger to the public, identifying activities that put people at risk, designing exposure and epidemiological studies, actively involving communities into the Superfund cleanup process, designing effective cleanup measures, measuring the effectiveness of cleanup actions developing screening levels and cleanup goals, determining the basis for enforcement actions, determining priorities for cleanup actions, and determining priorities for research.

Garrahan, K. AND W. Farland. The Role Of Risk Assessment In Addressing Hazardous Waste Issues. ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGY 2:188-193, (2000).