Environmental Risk Assessment
Objectives
1. Understanding of the nature and approaches to environmental risk phenomena;
2. Acquisition and training of tools to assess major environmental risks, in a number of inter-related domains: territorial risk, water use risk, industrial risk, ecological and human risk.
3. Practical application on environmental risk assessment, in the perspective of risk management and decision support.
General characterization
Code
10392
Credits
6.0
Responsible teacher
João Miguel Dias Joanaz de Melo, Marta Susana Silvestre Gouveia Martins
Hours
Weekly - 4
Total - 56
Teaching language
Português
Prerequisites
Available soon
Bibliography
Birkmann, J. (2013) Measuring Vulnerability to Natural Hazards. Towards Disaster Resilient Societies. UN
Fuchs, S., Thaler, E (Eds) (2018) Vulnerability and Resilience to Natural Hazards, Cambridge U. Press.
Smith, K. (2013). Environmental Hazards: Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster, Routledge.
Jorgensen SE, Constanza R, Xu FL Eds (2004) Handbook of Ecological Indicators for Assessment of Ecosystem Health. CRC Press
Bruins (Eds) (2004) Economics and Ecological Risk Assessment: Applications to Watershed Management. CRC Press
Natàlia Garcia-Reyero, Cheryl A. Murphy (2018). A Sistems Biology Approach to Advancing Adverse Outcome Pathways for Risk Assessment. Springer, Switzerland. 422p.
Teaching method
A combination of different teaching methods is employed: lectures with high level of interaction with the students (Socratic method); exercises on specific techniques in and out of class; seminars with invited speakers; development of practical assignments that integrate the course matter; and presentation of assignments with discussion.
Teaching language may be Portuguese or English depending on students'''' origin.
Evaluation method
Evaluation is based on assignments, including written papers and presentation and discussion in class. Each thematic module is subject to autonomous evaluation to consolidate specific techniques, and is then complemented by a case-study-based assignment, where all the themes are integrated.
Subject matter
1. Introduction: concepts, nature and perception of risks. Methodology: risk characterization, communication, assessment and management.
2. Territorial risks. Factors that trigger and constrain dangerous processes and actions. Integration of risk analysis in territorial planning and management. Cost-benefit analysis, direct and indirect costs.
3. Risk related to water use: dams and other hydraulic works, pollution events, and water supply systems; water safety plans.
4. Industrial risk: hazards identification; construction of accident scenarios; statistic and probabilistic models for the quantification of risk; modelling of accidents with hazardous chemicals; industrial accident prevention; environmental responsibility.
5. Ecological and human health risk assessment: concepts and legal framework; main approaches (Environmental Quality Standards EAS, Weight-of-evidence WoE, Adverse Outcome Pathways AOP); risk calculation of chemical substances and their mixtures.