Environmental Risk Assessment - Fundamentals

Code:

TCAEM15

Acronym:

ARA-F

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Biology

Instance: 2024/2025 - 2S (of 17-02-2025 to 18-07-2025)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Population Studies
Course/CS Responsible:	Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MTCAEM	3	Oficial Plan 2020	1	-	3	21	81

Teaching language

English
Obs.: predominantemente inglês, podendo ser ainda usado português

Objectives

- to get knowledge and training on the assessment, management and communication of environmental risks.

- to know the national and European regulation, institutions, frameworks and procedures for environmental risk assessment, management and communication (e.g. REACh, CLP)

- to get training on the environmental risk assessment, management and communication in diverse situations and contexts (e.g. chemical spills in the marine environment, climate changes, bioinvasions,...)

Learning outcomes and competences

- to get knowledge and training needed to make environmental risk assessments (ERA)

- to develop skils and get training on environmental risk management and communication

- to develop skills and training on the search and selection of scientific information needed to specific situations of ERA, team work and decision making.

- do develop the capability of ERA communication and the autonomy of the students.

Working method

Presencial

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

ecotoxicology, ecology and environmental chemistry knowledge.

Program

1. Introduction to the course.


2. Introduction to environmental risk assessment. Prospective and retrospective environmental risk assessment. Problems and contexts. General frameworks.


3. European and national regulations, institutions/agencies and technical guidance documents in the scope of REACH and CLP. Emerging environmental contaminants.


4. Other regulation, institutions in charge and procedures (e.g. risk assessment of oil and other chemical spills in the marine environment). Risk management and communication.

5. Simulations in diverse contexts and situations.

Mandatory literature

Canter Larry W.; Environmental risk assessment and management. ISBN: 92-75-37021-4

Complementary Bibliography

Newman, M.C.; Roberts, Jr., M.H.; HAle, R. C.; Coastal and Estuarine Risk Assessment, Lewis Publishers, CRC Press Company, 2002. ISBN: 1-56670-556-8
BArnthouse, L.W.; Munns Jr, W.R.; Sorensen, M.T.; Population-level Ecological Risk Assessment, SETAC Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-1-4200-5332-6

Comments from the literature

websites and scientific publications of interest.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Teaching/learning based on the analysis and discussion of case studies, problem solving approaches, team work in class time complemented with autonomous work (continuous evaluation I).

Seminar, continuous evaluation II: The final evaluation ("exam") will be the presentation and discussion of a work done in the scope of the course.

keywords

Natural sciences > Environmental science > Ecology > Ecotoxicology
Natural sciences > Environmental science > Ecology
Natural sciences > Biological sciences > Biodiversity > Risk assessment
Natural sciences > Environmental science > Natural resources management

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	70,00
Participação presencial	30,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	30,00
Frequência das aulas	21,00
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	6,00
Trabalho de investigação	24,00
Total:	81,00

Eligibility for exams

- frequency of lectures and other sessions and active participation in the activities (continuous evaluation I);

- presentation of the work (oral communication), delivery of its suport (power point), and discussion of the work done (seminar, continuous evaluation II).

-

Calculation formula of final grade

1) Presentation and discussion of the work (avaliação contínua II, seminar): 70%

2) Continuous evaluation I: 30%

Final: 1+2

Examinations or Special Assignments

work to be developed in the scope of the course, its presentation (oral communication) and discussion.

Classification improvement

improved version of component 1.