Risk assessment integrates the information gathered during the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) to evaluate site-specific chemical concentrations and determine if the risks are significant enough to require further investigation or remedial action.
The National Contingency Plan (NCP) requires the use of a risk assessment to evaluate the potential threat to human health and the environment under both current and likely future conditions. The results of the human health risk assessment (HHRA) and ecological risk assessment (ERA) are then used to make decisions regarding the need for a remedial action at a given site.
The Department of the Navy (DON) has defined a three-tiered approach that follows the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance for both HHRAs and the ERAs. The goal of the DON tiered approach is to incorporate risk management into the decision-making process, eliminate sites that are not of concern, and ensure that the level of effort expended is commensurate with the magnitude and complexity of the site. The DON approach also emphasizes stakeholder concurrence to ensure that risk assessments are scientifically-based, defensible, and cost-effective.
View the pages below to learn more about DON’s three-tiered approach to risk assessment: