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Rigaud M, Buekers J, Bessems J, Basagaña X, Mathy S, Nieuwenhuijsen M, Slama R. The methodology of quantitative risk assessment studies. Environ Health 2024; 23:13. [PMID: 38281011 PMCID: PMC10821313 DOI: 10.1186/s12940-023-01039-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/29/2024]
Abstract
Once an external factor has been deemed likely to influence human health and a dose response function is available, an assessment of its health impact or that of policies aimed at influencing this and possibly other factors in a specific population can be obtained through a quantitative risk assessment, or health impact assessment (HIA) study. The health impact is usually expressed as a number of disease cases or disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributable to or expected from the exposure or policy. We review the methodology of quantitative risk assessment studies based on human data. The main steps of such studies include definition of counterfactual scenarios related to the exposure or policy, exposure(s) assessment, quantification of risks (usually relying on literature-based dose response functions), possibly economic assessment, followed by uncertainty analyses. We discuss issues and make recommendations relative to the accuracy and geographic scale at which factors are assessed, which can strongly influence the study results. If several factors are considered simultaneously, then correlation, mutual influences and possibly synergy between them should be taken into account. Gaps or issues in the methodology of quantitative risk assessment studies include 1) proposing a formal approach to the quantitative handling of the level of evidence regarding each exposure-health pair (essential to consider emerging factors); 2) contrasting risk assessment based on human dose-response functions with that relying on toxicological data; 3) clarification of terminology of health impact assessment and human-based risk assessment studies, which are actually very similar, and 4) other technical issues related to the simultaneous consideration of several factors, in particular when they are causally linked.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Rigaud
- Inserm, University of Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IAB, Team of Environmental Epidemiology Applied to Reproduction and Respiratory Health, Grenoble, France
| | - Jurgen Buekers
- VITO, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Unit Health, Mol, Belgium
| | - Jos Bessems
- VITO, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Unit Health, Mol, Belgium
| | - Xavier Basagaña
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, 08003, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, 08003, Spain
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, 28029, Spain
| | - Sandrine Mathy
- CNRS, University Grenoble Alpes, INRAe, Grenoble INP, GAEL, Grenoble, France
| | - Mark Nieuwenhuijsen
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, 08003, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, 08003, Spain
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, 28029, Spain
| | - Rémy Slama
- Inserm, University of Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IAB, Team of Environmental Epidemiology Applied to Reproduction and Respiratory Health, Grenoble, France.
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Długosz-Lisiecka M. Public Health Decision Making in the Case of the Use of a Nuclear Weapon. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:12766. [PMID: 36232066 PMCID: PMC9564949 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191912766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The current geopolitical situation and the war on Ukraine's territory generate questions about the possible use of a nuclear weapon and create the need to refresh emergency protective plans for the population. Ensuring the protection of public health is a national responsibility, but the problem is of international size and global scale. Radiological or nuclear disasters need suitable decision making at the right time, which determine large effective radiation protection activities to ensure public health is protected, reduce fatalities, radiation disease, and other effects. In this study, a simulation of a single nuclear weapon detonation with an explosion yield of 0.3 and 1 Mt was applied for a hypothetical location, to indicate the required decision making and the need to trigger protocols for the protection of the population. The simulated explosion was located in a city center, in a European country, for the estimation of the size of the effects of the explosion and its consequences for public health. Based on the simulation results and knowledge obtained from historical nuclear events, practical suggestions, discussion, a review of the recommendations was conducted, exacerbated by the time constraints of a public health emergency. Making science-based decisions should encompass clear procedures with specific activities triggered immediately based on confirmed information, acquired from active or/and passive warning systems and radiometric specific analysis provided by authorized laboratories. This study has the potential to support the preparedness of decision makers in the event of a disaster or crisis-related emergency for population health management and summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of the current ability to respond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Długosz-Lisiecka
- Institute of Applied Radiation Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology, Wróblewskiego 15, 93-590 Lodz, Poland
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Structural Factors of Epidemic Transmission under Conditions of Inter-Provincial Openness: an Empirical Analysis of the COVID-19 Spread. MOBILE NETWORKS AND APPLICATIONS 2022. [PMCID: PMC8390076 DOI: 10.1007/s11036-021-01811-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Effects of Risk Presentation Format and Fear Message on Laypeople’s Risk Perceptions. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.15814/jpr.2015.19.1.162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Claxton LD. The history, genotoxicity, and carcinogenicity of carbon-based fuels and their emissions: Part 5. Summary, comparisons, and conclusions. MUTATION RESEARCH-REVIEWS IN MUTATION RESEARCH 2015; 763:103-47. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mrrev.2014.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2014] [Revised: 10/04/2014] [Accepted: 10/06/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Characterizing Occupational Risk Perception: the Case of Biological, Ergonomic and Organizational Hazards in Spanish Healthcare Workers. SPANISH JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2014; 17:E51. [PMID: 25012649 DOI: 10.1017/sjp.2014.55] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AbstractUnderstanding how risk is perceived by workers is necessary for effective risk communication and risk management. This study adapts key elements of the psychometric perspective to characterize occupational risk perception at a worker level. A total of 313 Spanish healthcare workers evaluated relevant hazards in their workplaces related to biological, ergonomic and organizational factors. A questionnaire elicited workers' ratings of 3 occupational hazards on 9 risk attributes along with perceived risk. Factor and regression analyses reveal regularities in how different risks are perceived, while, at the same time, the procedure helps to summarize specificities in the perception of each hazard. The main regularity is the weight of feeling of dread/severity in order to characterize the risk perceived (β ranges from .22 to .41; p < .001). Data also suggest an underestimation of expert knowledge in relation to the personal knowledge of risk. Thus, participants consider their knowledge of the risk related to biological, ergonomic, and organizational hazards to be higher than the knowledge attributed to the occupational experts (mean differences 95% CIs [.10, .30], [.54, .94], and [0.52, 1.05]). We demonstrate the application of a feasible and systematic procedure to capture how workers perceive hazards in their immediate work environment.
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Olawoyin R. Exploration of the spatial-Composite Risk Index (CRI) for the characterization of toxicokinetics in petrochemical active areas. CHEMOSPHERE 2013; 92:1207-1213. [PMID: 23714154 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.04.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2013] [Revised: 04/10/2013] [Accepted: 04/12/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The spatial modeling of the petrochemical active regions in the Niger Delta (ND), Nigeria was carried out through the analysis exploration and extraction of geospatial data and resultant risk maps were generated. The pollutants assessed include; heavy metals, polychlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), benzene-toluene-ethylene-xylene (BTEX), and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and properties of the pollutants such as bioaccumulation, persistence and toxicity were used to calculate the Hazard Index (HI) and thus created a ranking system. The Composite Risk Index (CRI) was developed successively considering the concentrations of all pollutants and the computed HI using the samples collected in ND areas of Nigeria. The carcinogenic PAHs showed spatial abundance in the areas sampled and elevated levels of soil heavy metals were also observed. In this study, mathematical tool such as the artificial neural network (ANN) self-organizing map (SOM) and geostatistical analysis such as kriging were applied to develop the risk map of the areas which represent the spatial spread of the CRI. The results show that the application of spatially developed integral risk map for pollutant assessment is effective and facilitates with decision making with regards the environment and humans exposed in this region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Olawoyin
- The John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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Ruggiero A, Vos M. Terrorism Communication: Characteristics and Emerging Perspectives in the Scientific Literature 2002–2011. JOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/1468-5973.12022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Aino Ruggiero
- Department of Communication University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä Finland
| | - Marita Vos
- Department of Communication University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä Finland
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Reynolds BJ. When the facts are just not enough: credibly communicating about risk is riskier when emotions run high and time is short. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2010; 254:206-14. [PMID: 21034761 DOI: 10.1016/j.taap.2010.10.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2009] [Revised: 06/25/2010] [Accepted: 10/24/2010] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
When discussing risk with people, commonly subject matter experts believe that conveying the facts will be enough to allow people to assess a risk and respond rationally to that risk. Because of this expectation, experts often become exasperated by the seemingly illogical way people assess personal risk and choose to manage that risk. In crisis situations when the risk information is less defined and choices must be made within impossible time constraints, the thought processes may be even more susceptible to faulty heuristics. Understanding the perception of risk is essential to understanding why the public becomes more or less upset by events. This article explores the psychological underpinnings of risk assessment within emotionally laden events and the risk communication practices that may facilitate subject matter experts to provide the facts in a manner so they can be more certain those facts are being heard. Source credibility is foundational to risk communication practices. The public meeting is one example in which these best practices can be exercised. Risks are risky because risk perceptions differ and the psychosocial environment in which risk is discussed complicates making risk decisions. Experts who want to influence the actions of the public related to a threat or risk should understand that decisions often involve emotional as well as logical components. The media and other social entities will also influence the risk context. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's crisis and emergency-risk communication (CERC) principles are intended to increase credibility and recognize emotional components of an event. During a risk event, CERC works to calm emotions and increase trust which can help people apply the expertise being offered by response officials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara J Reynolds
- U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, N.E, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
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Morello-Frosch R, Brody JG, Brown P, Altman RG, Rudel RA, Pérez C. Toxic ignorance and right-to-know in biomonitoring results communication: a survey of scientists and study participants. Environ Health 2009; 8:6. [PMID: 19250551 PMCID: PMC2654440 DOI: 10.1186/1476-069x-8-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2008] [Accepted: 02/28/2009] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Exposure assessment has shifted from pollutant monitoring in air, soil, and water toward personal exposure measurements and biomonitoring. This trend along with the paucity of health effect data for many of the pollutants studied raise ethical and scientific challenges for reporting results to study participants. METHODS We interviewed 26 individuals involved in biomonitoring studies, including academic scientists, scientists from environmental advocacy organizations, IRB officials, and study participants; observed meetings where stakeholders discussed these issues; and reviewed the relevant literature to assess emerging ethical, scientific, and policy debates about personal exposure assessment and biomonitoring, including public demand for information on the human health effects of chemical body burdens. RESULTS We identify three frameworks for report-back in personal exposure studies: clinical ethics; community-based participatory research; and citizen science 'data judo.' The first approach emphasizes reporting results only when the health significance of exposures is known, while the latter two represent new communication strategies where study participants play a role in interpreting, disseminating, and leveraging results to promote community health. We identify five critical areas to consider in planning future biomonitoring studies. CONCLUSION Public deliberation about communication in personal exposure assessment research suggests that new forms of community-based research ethics and participatory scientific practice are emerging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Morello-Frosch
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management & School of Public Health, 137 Mulford Hall, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114, USA
| | | | - Phil Brown
- Department of Sociology, Brown University, Box 1916, Providence, RI 02912-1916, USA
- Center for Environmental Studies, Brown University, Box 1943, Providence, RI 02912-1943, USA
| | - Rebecca Gasior Altman
- Center for Environmental Studies, Brown University, Box 1943, Providence, RI 02912-1943, USA
| | - Ruthann A Rudel
- Silent Spring Institute, 29 Crafts Street, Newton, MA 02458, USA
| | - Carla Pérez
- Communities for a Better Environment, 1440 Broadway Suite 701, Oakland, CA 94612, USA
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Stewart BW. Banding carcinogenic risks in developed countries: A procedural basis for qualitative assessment. MUTATION RESEARCH-REVIEWS IN MUTATION RESEARCH 2008; 658:124-151. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mrrev.2007.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Nadal M, Kumar V, Schuhmacher M, Domingo JL. Definition and GIS-based characterization of an integral risk index applied to a chemical/petrochemical area. CHEMOSPHERE 2006; 64:1526-35. [PMID: 16442585 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2005.11.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2005] [Revised: 11/24/2005] [Accepted: 11/30/2005] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
A risk map of the chemical/petrochemical industrial area of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain) was designed following a two-stage procedure. The first step was the creation of a ranking system (Hazard Index) for a number of different inorganic and organic pollutants: heavy metals, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by applying self-organizing maps (SOM) to persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity properties of the chemicals. PCBs seemed to be the most hazardous compounds, while the light PAHs showed the minimum values. Subsequently, an Integral Risk Index was developed taking into account the Hazard Index and the concentrations of all pollutants in soil samples collected in the assessed area of Tarragona. Finally, a risk map was elaborated by representing the spatial distribution of the Integral Risk Index with a geographic information system (GIS). The results of the present study seem to indicate that the development of an integral risk map might be useful to help in making-decision processes concerning environmental pollutants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martí Nadal
- Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Rovira i Virgili University, San Lorenzo 21, 43201 Reus, Spain
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Kapan DD, Bennett SN, Ellis BN, Fox J, Lewis ND, Spencer JH, Saksena S, Wilcox BA. Avian Influenza (H5N1) and the Evolutionary and Social Ecology of Infectious Disease Emergence. ECOHEALTH 2006; 3:187-194. [PMCID: PMC7088171 DOI: 10.1007/s10393-006-0044-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Durrell D. Kapan
- Center for Conservation and Research Training, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822 USA
| | - Shannon N. Bennett
- Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology, Asia-Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96813 USA
| | - Brett N. Ellis
- Center for Infectious Disease Ecology, Asia-Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96813 USA
| | - Jefferson Fox
- Research Program, East-West Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96848 USA
| | - Nancy D. Lewis
- Research Program, East-West Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96848 USA
| | - James H. Spencer
- Globalization Research Center, Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Department of Political Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822 USA
| | - Sumeet Saksena
- Research Program, East-West Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96848 USA
| | - Bruce A. Wilcox
- Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology, and Pharmacology, Asia-Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96813 USA
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Evans W. Bibliography. HEALTH COMMUNICATION 2005; 18:309-15. [PMID: 16187935 DOI: 10.1207/s15327027hc1803_8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- William Evans
- Institute for Communication and Information Research, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0172, USA.
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