Scholarly record

RISK ANALYSIS WITHIN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT - A REVIEW

Martina Zelenakova, Lenka Zvijakova, Daniel Peptenatu, Radu-Daniel Pintilii

Abstract

Opinions on the potential uses of risk analysis and environmental impact assessment (EIA) are different. Although many experts, researchers, practitioners and policy-makers agree that risk analysis is a valuable tool to inform decisions, they disagree about the extent to which risk estimates may be biased and should be allowed to influence public policies to protect health and the environment and to be used within the EIA process. The quality and value of any risk analysis depends on the adequacy of the data and the validity of the method. For environmental hazards and most health and ecological effects, data are limited, methods are controversial, and consequently, quantitative risk estimates are very imprecise and highly uncertain, offering little guidance to policy-makers. EIA offers an appropriate legal and procedural framework for the integration of risk assessment. The question is then why risk assessment has found only limited application in European EIA practice. One reason may be a widespread belief among the EIA community that risk assessment is complicated, difficult to communicate, and usually costly. This paper presents using of risk analysis methods and approaches in environmental impact assessment.

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