Environmental Risk Assessment

Both developed and developing nations around the world are becoming increasingly interested in environmental pollution and impact human health. Different factors contribute to environmental pollution, including an increase in population, resulting in demand for energy, which causes toxic pollutants that are released into the air we breathe, on the soil where we grow food, and in the water we drink. These contaminants may be harmful to both the environment and human health. The influence of environmental pollution on human health and well-being is discussed in detail in the current chapter. There are examples of various environmental problems related to soil, air, and water pollution, as well as evidence of human exposure pathways and the health effects of different environmental pollutants. Specific chemical contaminants present in soil, air and water are also evidenced. So, this chapter introduces the reader to a world where environmental health is synonymous with human health and where how each of us as individuals treats the environment directly affects our well-being.

Rapid growth and expansion of the chemical and energy industries have led to an increase in chemical emissions and the potential for accidents, such as fires, explosions, and spills. These potential consequences have caused concern among industries and regulators, leading to an interest in understanding the risks associated with these emissions into the environment and accidents. This knowledge is crucial for complying with laws and regulations as well as for reducing adverse effects on human health and the environment. Consequently, this chapter intends to introduce readers to the Environmental Risk Assessment and the steps that should be accounted for the successful results, representing an important study on understanding the risks and minimizing the negative effects as much as possible. The first part of the chapter is dedicated to presenting specific knowledge on Risk and Hazard, evidencing differences between the two terms. The second section emphasizes the value of human health risk assessment in determining the potential effects of a hazard on the health of an individual, a group of individuals, or a community, while simultaneously outlining the steps that must be taken for the Ecological Risk Assessment.

The chapter discusses the concept of risks in the economy and how it affects the everyday operations of a company. Risks arising can result in economic losses, damage to facilities and equipment, and, most importantly, workplace accidents. Risk management nowadays has developed in both concept and practice and has become an industry in countries with a functional market economy. The chapter emphasizes that risk management is a crucial aspect of global management that requires information from various fields, such as economic, technical, legal, statistical, and psychological, to maintain the risk at the minimum level. Moreover, effective risk management can lead to sustainable development for humans, the environment, and businesses.

The current chapter illustrates aspects of sustainable soil management, the basic concepts for site investigation based on the calculation of the risk associated with the various chemicals that affect the structure, quality, and functions of the soil, as well as the highlighting of the most important remedial strategies used to reduce pollution. As a result, the soil can be used for a variety of industrial and civil purposes. Sustainable soil management is a concept based on technical-scientific and economic knowledge. Simultaneously, policy actions are taken to maintain and increase soil productivity, protect biodiversity, reduce risk, and protect natural resource potential by preventing soil quality degradation and supporting ecosystem services. In the decisionmaking process for Assessing Human Health Risk for contaminated sites, the development of the site's conceptual model is recommended for a better understanding of the evolution of the respective site's situation. The development of a Conceptual Site Model (CSM) is useful for assessing the contamination risks of any site because it identifies the sources of hazards, potential receptors (people, ecology, and infrastructure), and exposure pathways.

In the last decades, increased air pollution has been the world's largest environmental health threat, and new causal relationships between it and human diseases have been discovered. To better understand the relationship between air pollution and health risks and to promote the most efficient measures that may reduce the health impact, the chapter sets the context regarding the risk–based approach to air quality management and presents the Health Impact Assessment of Air Pollution, the Health Risk Assessment process and the tools that can be used for assessing it. To support the theoretical information described, several case studies were presented.

The United Nations (UN) recognizes access to safe drinking water as a fundamental human right. However, there are still many people without access to safe drinking water, and diseases caused by contaminated water pose a serious threat to human health. By 2030, progress would need to be made at four times the current rate to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals related to water. The drinking water system has several points where undesired events could happen, allowing contaminated water to be delivered to the public. The safety and quality of the drinking water that they provide are always the suppliers' responsibility. Risk management is a crucial component in ensuring the supply of safe drinking water. One strategy for supplying consumers with safe drinking water is the “multiple barrier approach”. Risk-based methodologies are more effective to identify and manage the hazards in the drinking water system to provide a consistent supply of safe drinking water. To encourage the development and use of risk management methods, the World Health Organization (WHO) has created guidelines for the quality of drinking water. European Drinking Water Directive that was revised and entered into force, which started in January 2021, also includes a risk management system for the “source-to-tap”. This chapter presents aspects concerning water contamination and health, an overview of drinking water supply systems, safe drinking water risk management strategies, and the framework for safe drinking water to focus on water safety plan development.

The current chapter presents the main municipal solid waste management processes used worldwide with potentially negative effects on human health: incineration, landfilling and composting by analyzing the defining elements regarding the main pollutants generated by the waste management processes in the form of solid, liquid, and gaseous discharges. Waste production, management and disposal involve more complex activities, with different potentials to affect health directly and indirectly through many pathways and mechanisms. The impact of waste may vary depending on numerous factors, such as the type of waste management processes, characteristics, and habits of the exposed population, duration of exposure, prevention, and mitigation interventions. Improper waste management in terms of health impact could be directly linked, to potential adverse substances, which leads to increased risk of cancer and quality of life decreasing or indirectly, to the environmental impact of the process, such as the contribution to global warming, loss of biodiversity and the depletion of nonrenewable resources