Environmental Risk Assessment & Management Flashcards

Which international framework provides voluntary guidance for organizations to manage environmental risks through a systematic environmental management system (EMS)?

Answer: ISO 14001

ISO 14001 is the internationally recognized standard for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and improving an environmental management system.

In the context of physical climate risk, 'chronic risks' are best exemplified by:

Answer: Gradual sea level rise affecting coastal assets over decades

Chronic physical risks are long-term shifts in climate patterns, such as gradual sea level rise, changing precipitation regimes, or sustained temperature increases.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6 requires EPA to regulate chemical risks using which standard?

Answer: Unreasonable risk to health or the environment

TSCA Section 6 authorizes EPA to restrict or ban chemicals that present an 'unreasonable risk' to human health or the environment, requiring risk-benefit balancing.

A 'fate and transport' model in environmental risk assessment predicts:

Answer: How contaminants move and transform in environmental media over time

Fate and transport models simulate how contaminants migrate through soil, groundwater, or air and undergo chemical or biological transformation over time.

Which term describes the process of using financial instruments like green bonds to fund projects that reduce environmental risk?

Answer: Sustainable finance

Sustainable finance encompasses the integration of ESG considerations into financial decisions, including using green bonds and sustainability-linked loans to fund environmental risk reduction projects.

The 'hierarchy of controls' applied to environmental risk management prioritizes which approach first?

Answer: Elimination of the hazard at the source

The hierarchy of controls prioritizes elimination of the hazard as the most effective control, followed by substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and PPE as the least effective.

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) present particular environmental risk management challenges because they are:

Answer: Persistent, bioaccumulative, and detected at very low health-relevant concentrations

PFAS are highly persistent ('forever chemicals'), bioaccumulate in food chains, and have health-relevant regulatory limits in the parts-per-trillion range, making detection and remediation extremely challenging.