Environmental and Human Health Risks

Code:

AMB4055

Acronym:

AMB4055

Level:

400

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Environment

Instance: 2024/2025 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Geosciences, Environment and Spatial Plannings
Course/CS Responsible:	Master in Geospatial Engineering

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
M:EGEO	0	Official Study Plan	1	-	6	42	162

Teaching language

Portuguese and english

Objectives

With this curricular unit, it is intended that students achieve the following objectives:

• They have a historical perspective on the evolution of risk assessment in the US and Europe.
• Be able to distinguish predictive risk assessment from retrospective risk assessment, and understand the interconnection between these two processes
• Understand the role of Ecotoxicology and Toxicology in producing information for risk assessment
• Recognize the differences between the European and North American conceptual models of predictive risk assessment
• Be able to use available tools to integrate toxicity data and derive PNECs (predicted no effect concentration)/risk limits for different chemical compounds
• Be able to calculate risks to the environment by integrating chemical, ecotoxicological and ecological information, i.e. using TRIAD methodology and based on the weight of evidence
• Understand what type of data can be collected to assess the hazard of a given substance
• Understand the importance of using models in assessing risks to human health and the associated uncertainties
• Be able to perform human health risk calculations for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic compounds
• Understand how quality criteria or reference values for soils are derived
• Identify the main steps in retrospective risk assessment for human health and how this can also be carried out in stages
• Understand the concept of bioavailability and bioaccessibility and what implications they could have on risk assessment

Learning outcomes and competences

At the end of this curricular unit, students will be able to:

• Distinguish in which situations predictive or retrospective risk assessment schemes apply
• Know the information they need to estimate risk limits (PNEC, HC5, RfD, etc.)
• Use risk thresholds for retrospective risk assessment
• Recognize the importance of ecotoxicological data for determining risk limits, using deterministic or probabilistic methods
• Know how to use the main databases to collect information about the danger of a given substance and understand how this information was obtained
• Identify the main steps of predictive and retrospective risk assessment for human health
• Calculate human health risks for different types of compounds and interpret their results
• Calculate quality criteria for soils
• Distinguish the difference between total and available concentrations of a given substance in the soil

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Do not exist.

Program

Mandatory literature

Jensen, J., Mesman, M., Eds ; Ecological Risk Assessment of Contaminated Land. Decision Support for site specific investigations. RIVM report number 711701047, 2006. ISBN: 978-90-6960-138-0
Posthuma, L., Suter II, G.W., Traas, T.P. (eds), ; Species Sensitivity Distribution in Ecotoxicology, Lewis Publishers, 2002. ISBN: 1-56670-578-9
Robson, M.G., Toscano, W.A. (Eds); Risk assessment for environmental health, Jossey-Bass, 2007. ISBN: 0-7879-8319-5
Suter, G.W., Barnthouse, L.W., Bartell, S.M., Mill, T., Paterson, S., ; Ecological Risk Assessment of Contaminated Land. Decision Support for site specific investigations. RIVM report number 711701047, Lewis Publishers, 1993. ISBN: 9780873718752
Dannis J. Paustenbach; Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: Theory and Practice, Wiley Classics Library, 2002. ISBN: 0-471-14747-8
HELMUT GREIM and ROBERT SNYDER; Toxicology and Risk Assessment: A Comprehensive Introduction, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2008
R.A. Fjeld, N.A. Eisenberg, K.L. Compton; Quantitative Environmental Risk Analysis for Human Health, Wiley Classics Library, 2007
R.A. Howd, A.M. Fan (Ed.); Risk Assessment for Chemicals in Drinking Water, Wiley Classics Library, 2008

Teaching methods and learning activities

Theoretical classes with frequent use of case studies, real data and updated bibliography published in specialized journals. Students will receive this bibliography to complement their study, along with the recommended bibliography.

In theoretical-practical classes, students will be able to use tools to support the calculation of risk limits and, using real data (from case studies in which teachers were involved), they will carry out risk calculations for the environment and human health. Role-play exercises will also be carried out in which students will be able to assume the roles of risk assessors and managers, in order to plan risk assessment processes for specific problem situations, making decisions about the necessary information and integrating it into the processes.

 

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

designation	Weight (%)
Exame	40,00
Trabalho escrito	40,00
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	20,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	120,00
Frequência das aulas	42,00
Total:	162,00

Eligibility for exams

Attendance of classes as provided for in the FCUP statutes.

Calculation formula of final grade

 

Classification improvement

Only the exam grade can be improved at the appeal period