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CONVERGENCE OF ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT AND RISK ASSESSMENT: TOWARDS HOLISTIC ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Citation:
Munns Jr., W R. CONVERGENCE OF ECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT AND RISK ASSESSMENT: TOWARDS HOLISTIC ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. Presented at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, November 11-15, 2001.
Description:
A major emphasis of environmental monitoring and assessment programs is to characterize the condition of natural resources. When repeated through time, ecological assessments (EA) can be used to track changes in environmental condition that reflect on the efficacy of regulatory and resource protection policies. Analysis of data obtained in an EA can also lead to development of hypotheses about the relationships among stressors and observed ecological condition, which in turn can form the assessment questions that drive ecological risk assessments (ERA). While not all EAs need to be conducted with risk assessment in mind, carefully thought out assessment designs can increase the value of monitoring and assessment programs for understanding ecological risks. Further, the potential for additional synergies exist between EA, ERA, and assessment of risks to humans. Societal and scientific interest is increasing in the interrelationships between environmental condition and human health and welfare, as evidenced by recent workshops and international efforts to integrate ecological and human health risk assessment (HHRA). These developments suggest that convergence of EA, ERA, and HHRA should enhance the scientific basis for sound, holistic environmental regulation and protection. This presentation will evaluate some of the approaches and characteristics of current EAs in the United States with an eye towards maximizing their usefulness to assessment of risks to humans and the environment.