ASSESSMENTS > Site Characterization | Site Assessment | Risk Assessment | Laboratory Services
Updated September 2010
ASSESSMENTS: Risk Assessment

Increasingly, government agencies, corporations and other service providers are required to protect against impacts to the environment and human health. However, without the necessary scientific expertise and knowledge of regulations, this can be a complex costly and time consuming process.

Risk Assessments are the scientific approach to evaluation and quantifying the degree of ecological and human health risks associated with a contaminated site. This includes the type of contamination, the exposure pathways (bioavailability) and degree of bioaccumulation and its effects on human health and safety from current conditions and/or the end usage conditions once the site is redeveloped, with or without completing remedial actions(remediation may be mandatory based on regulatory requirements or the risk evaluation completed as part of the Risk Assessment, or voluntary based on the criteria of the proponents).

Risk Assessment Standards

Two complementary approaches have been identified for establishing site specific remediation objectives for contaminated sites: a criteria-based approach, and a risk-based approach. Across Canada Risk Assessments are guided by several guidelines or standards:

  • CCME - A Framework for Ecological Risk Assessment: General Guidance (1996) - PN1195
    This guidance document is directed toward the risk-based approach. It is intended to provide a general framework for ecological risk assessment, which is based on the probability of adverse ecological effects and the concept of exposure-response relationships. Ecological risk assessment should be considered where there are significant ecological concerns, unacceptable data gaps, or special site characteristics.

  • CCME - A Framework for Ecological Risk Assessment: Technical Appendices (1997) - PN1274
    This document complements "A Framework for Ecological Risk Assessment: General Guidance" (CCME, 1996, PN1195) and describes sampling principles, receptor characterization, exposure assessment, hazard assessment, and risk characterization.

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