Ecological risk assessment

Abstract

Ecological risk assessment (ERA) has matured since the 1970s when it began as ecological assessment. ERA has its foundations in human health risk assessment, and as such, similarities exist between the two processes. However, the inherent complex nature of the ecosystem and its interwoven processes make the practice typically more complex for ERA than for human health risk assessment. In the early 1990s, the Environmental Protection Agency and others issued guidance documents that present a basic framework approach for conducting ERAs. This basic framework persists today and includes the three main components of the risk assessment process: problem formulation, analysis, and risk characterization. Over time, scientists, risk analysts, and risk managers have augmented the component steps with iterative feedbacks and a weight-of-evidence approach that integrates numerous lines of evidence for analyzing stressor effects, exposure likelihood, and ecosystem risks. This chapter aims to present the reader with an overview and examples of the current ERA process.