CVL100:
Environmental
Science
Risk assessment
Are my health effects caused by pollution???
What's the difference between acute and
chronic health effects?
Acute health effects Chronic health effects
● generally develop suddenly ● are slower to develop
● are accompanied by distinct ● may have any number of warning
symptoms signs or no signs at all
● require urgent or short-term care, ● may worsen over an extended
and get better once they are treated. period of time—months to years
Acute Chronic
● Immediately after, or shortly after ● Exposure occurring over a longer
exposure, symptoms and side effects period of time than acute.
appear in an individual. ● Chronic health effects are often
● Acute side effects often are a result to a associated with low levels of exposure
high level exposure over a short period over a long period of time.
of time. ● For many that experience this type of
● In most cases, the effects can be exposure, the effects are not
reversed after exposure has ceased. reversible.
Acute health effects Chronic health effects
● Eye irritation ● Internal organ damage
● Rashes ● Birth defects (Teratogenicity)
● Nausea ● DNA damage, mutation (Genotoxocity)
● Headache ● Cancer causing (Carcinogenecity)
● Vomiting
● Respiratory issues
● Gastro-intestinal issues
Health effects of Arsenic
Source: [Link]
chronic-exposure-to-inorganic-arsenic-from-contaminated_fig1_313448493
How can we estimate the risks?
Steps in risk assessment
● Hazard characterization (e.g. pollutants in air, water or soil)
● Exposure assessment (e.g. PM inhaled, fluoride in drinking water, pesticides in
vegetables)
● Dose-response assessment (adverse health effects based on degree of exposure)
● Risk characterization (Potential health impacts and estimation of risks)
Source- Exposure pathway- Receptor
[Link]
Exposure routes
● Ingestion
● Inhalation
● Dermal absorption
Source: WHO
USEPA
Dose-Response curve
No observed adverse effect level
Lethal dose (LD) or Lethal concentration (LC)
Test organisms
Uncertainty factors
Source: [Link]
Average daily dose or intake
𝐶 × 𝐸𝑅 × 𝐸𝐷 × 𝐸𝐹
𝐴𝐷𝐷 𝑜𝑟 𝐴𝐷𝐼 =
𝐵𝑊 × 𝐴𝑇
Mostly used for acute exposure
ADD- Average daily dose, mg/kg/day
C- Pollutant concentration, mg/L or mg/g or mg/cm2 or mg/m3
ER- Exposure rate, L/day or g/day or cm2/day or m3/day
ED- Exposure duration, days/year
EF- Exposure frequency, year
BW- Body weight, kg
AT- Averaging time, day (Pathway specific period of exposure)
Chronic daily intake
𝐶 × 𝐸𝑅 × 𝐸𝐷 × 𝐸𝐹
𝐶𝐷𝐼 =
𝐵𝑊 × 𝐴𝑇
CDI- Chronic daily intake or LADD, life-time average daily dose (calculated for a life-time)
AT- Life expectancy (Normally taken as 70 years)
Absorption ratio to differentiate potential and applied dose
Non-Carcinogenic pollutants
● Hazard quotient, HQ=ADD/RfD
● RfD= Reference dose or acceptable daily intake (Acceptable dose which could be
consumed without any adverse effects)
HQ<1
● Hazard index (HI) for multiple pollutants=σ 𝐻𝑄𝑖
Carcinogenic pollutants
● Risk= CDI*SF
● SF=slope factor (also known as potency factor, PF)
● Risk <10-6
● An industrial spill has resulted in the release of trichloroethylene (TCE) into the
environment. The concentration of TCE in the groundwater and the
surrounding air are estimated to be 5 µg/L and 3 µg/m3, respectively. What is
the cancer risk for a local resident who consumes 2 L of groundwater per day
and spends 1 h every day in the playground near the spill?
EF- 350 days/year
ED- 30 years (Duration of stay at one residence)
AT- 70 years (Life expectancy)
Body weight- 70 kg
Air intake- 21 m3/day
Oral PF- 0.046 kg-day/mg
Inhalational PF- 0.006 kg-day/mg
Ingestion route
2𝐿 𝑑𝑎𝑦
5 µg/L × × 350 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟 × 30𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
𝑑𝑎𝑦
𝐶𝐷𝐼 =
70 𝑘𝑔 × 70 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
mg
𝐶𝐷𝐼 = 0.02
kg. day
𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑘 = 0.046 × 0.02 = 9.2 × 10−4
Inhalation route
21 𝑚3 1ℎ 𝑑𝑎𝑦
3 µg/m3 × × × 350 × 30𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
𝑑𝑎𝑦 24ℎ 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
𝐶𝐷𝐼 =
70 𝑘𝑔 × 70 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
mg
𝐶𝐷𝐼 = 0.135
kg. day
𝑅𝑖𝑠𝑘 = 0.135 × 0.006 = 8.1 × 10−4
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘 = 9.2 × 10−4 + 8.1 × 10−4 = 1.73 × 10−3 > 10−6
● What must be the maximum allowable concentrations in the air and water if the
cancer risk is to be maintained below 10−6 ?
● How will the results vary for a 40 kg woman?
● What would be the risk for an infant if soil ingestion is also taken into account?
Suggested reading
Integrated Risk Information System
[Link]