Risk Characterization

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-024367",
  "term": "Risk Characterization",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. A phase of risk assessment that integrates the results of the exposure and effects analyses to evaluate the likelihood of adverse effects associated with exposure to the stressor. The ecological significance of the adverse effects is discussed, including consideration of the types and magnitudes of the effects, their spatial and temporal patterns, and the likelihood of recovery.\n\n2. The integration of information on hazard, exposure, and dose-response to provide an estimate of the likelihood that any of the identified adverse effects will occur in exposed people.\n\n3. Final component of risk assessment that involves integration of the data and analysis involved in hazard evaluation, dose-response evaluation, and human exposure evaluation to determine the likelihood that humans will experience any of the various forms of toxicity associated with a substance.\n\n4. Risk characterization (http://www.epa.gov/risk/risk-characterization.htm) examines how well the data support conclusions about the nature and extent of the risk from exposure to environmental stressors.\n\n5. The last phase of the risk assessment process that estimates the potential for adverse health or ecological effects to occur from exposure to a stressor and evaluates the uncertainty involved.\n\n6. The final, summarizing step of a risk assessment. The risk characterization integrates information from the proceeding components of the risk assessment and synthesizes an overall conclusion about risk that is complete, informative, and useful for decision makers. It conveys the risk assessor's judgment as to the nature and existence of (or lack of) human health or ecological risks.\n\n7. The qualitative and, wherever possible, quantitative determination, including attendant uncertainties, of the probability of occurrence of known and potential adverse effects of an agent in a given organism, system, or population, under defined exposure conditions. Risk characterization is the fourth step in the risk assessment process.\n\n8. Determination of the nature of a given risk and quantifying of the potential for adverse change to the environment from that risk. \"A phase of ecological risk assessment that integrates the results of the exposure and ecological effects analyses to evaluate the likelihood of adverse ecological effects associated with exposure to a stressor. The ecological significance of the adverse effects is discussed, including consideration of the types and magnitudes of the effects, their spatial and temporal patterns, and the likelihood of recovery\" (RAF 1992, 38).\n\n9. The process of combining dose-response information with exposure information in order to estimate risk.\n\n10. Integrates exposure and stressor-response to evaluate the likelihood of adverse ecological effects associated with exposure to a stressor.\n\n11. The last phase of the risk assessment process in which the information from the toxicity and exposure assessment steps are integrated and an overall conclusion about risk is synthesized that is complete, informative and useful for decision-makers. In all cases, major issues and uncertainty and variability associated with determining the nature and extent of the risk should be identified and discussed. The risk characterization should be prepared in a manner that is clear, transparent, reasonable, and consistent.\n\n12. Integration of hazard identification, hazard characterization and exposure assessment into an estimation of the adverse effects likely to occur in a given population, including attendant uncertainties.\n\n13. This last step in the risk assessment process characterizes the potential for adverse health effects and evaluates the uncertainty involved.\n\n14. Integrates information from the preceding components of the risk assessment and synthesizes an overall conclusion about risk that is complete, informative, and useful for decision makers.\n\n15. A component of risk assessment that describes the nature and magnitude of risk, including uncertainty. In assessments of Superfund sites, it includes the summary and interpretation of information gathered from previous steps in the site risk assessment (e.g., data evaluation, exposure assessment, toxicity assessment), including the results of a probabilistic analysis.\n\n16. Integrates exposure and stressor-response to evaluate the likelihood of adverse ecological effects associated with exposure to a stressor. [EPA 1998a]\n\n17. The integration of information on hazard, exposure, and dose-response to provide an estimate of the likelihood that any of the identified adverse effects will occur in exposed people. [EPA 2003]\n\n18. The last phase of the risk assessment process in which the information from the toxicity and exposure assessment steps are integrated and an overall conclusion about risk is synthesized that is complete, informative and useful for decision-makers. In all cases, major issues and uncertainty and variability associated with determining the nature and extent of the risk should be identified and discussed. The risk characterization should be prepared in a manner that is clear, transparent, reasonable, and consistent. [EPA 2004]\n\n19. The qualitative and quantitative estimation, including attendant uncertainties of the probability of occurrence and severity of known or potential adverse health effects in a given population based on hazard identification, hazard characterization, and exposure assessment. [KIWA 2004]\n\n20. The qualitative and, wherever possible, quantitative determination, including attendant uncertainties, of the probability of occurrence of known and potential adverse effects of an agent in a given organism, system or (sub)population, under defined exposure conditions. Risk characterization is the fourth step in the risk assessment process. [IPCS/OECD 2004]\n\n21. In a microbial risk assessment, estimation of the likelihood of adverse human health effects occurring as a result of a defined exposure to a microbial contaminant or medium. [ILSI 2000]This last step in the risk assessment process characterizes the potential for adverse health effects and evaluates the uncertainty involved. [RAIS 2004]\n\n22. The last phase of the risk assessment process that estimates the potential for adverse health or ecological effects to occur from exposure to a stressor and evaluates the uncertainty involved. [EPA 2005b]\n\n23. The process of determining the qualitative and/or quantitative estimation, including attendant uncertainties, of the probability of occurrence and severity of known or potential adverse health effects in a given population based on hazard identification, hazard characterization, and exposure assessment. [CAC 1999, 2002, 2003; FAO/WHO 2003b]\n\n24. The qualitative and/or quantitative estimation, including attendant uncertainties, of the probability of occurrence and severity of known or potential adverse health effects in a given population based on hazard identification, hazard characterization and exposure assessment. [FAO/WHO 2003a]\n\n25. Integration of hazard identification, hazard characterization and exposure assessment into an estimation of the adverse effects likely to occur in a given population, including attendant uncertainties. [FDA 2002]\n\n26. The process within risk assessment, of estimating the probability of harm and the severity of impact of an identified hazard, and describing attendant uncertainty. [OMAF 1997]\n\n27. The final phase of ecological risk assessment and the culmination of the planning, problem formulation, and analysis of predicted or observed adverse ecological effects related to the assessment endpoints. Completing risk characterization allows risk assessors to clarify the relationships between stressors, effects, and ecological entities and to reach conclusions regarding the occurrence of exposure and the adversity of existing or anticipated effects.",
  "subject": "Science and research",
  "references": [
    "Waste and Cleanup Risk Assessment Glossary",
    "Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Glossary; EPA 2003",
    "Drinking Water Technical & Legal Terms; Drinking Water Technical and Legal Terms",
    "Risk Assessment Glossary",
    "Terms of Environment; EPA 2005b",
    "Community-Based Air Pollution Projects Glossary",
    "Exposure Factors Handbook: Glossary",
    "Environmental Modeling and Assessment Program (EMAP) Master Glossary",
    "Benchmark Dose Software (BMDS) Glossary of Terms",
    "EPA 1998a",
    "EPA 2004",
    "FDA 2002",
    "RAIS 2004",
    "Risk Characterization Handbook",
    "EPA Definitions of Terms Relevant to PRA and References for Further Reading at http://www.epa.gov/oswer/riskassessment/rags3adt/pdf/appendixe.pdf",
    "Thesaurus of Terms Used in Microbial Risk Assessment",
    "N-STEPS Online Glossary of Terms"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/risk-characterization/"
}