Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: Theory and Practice

An authoritative guide to risk assessment, grounded in actual case studies of sites or issues that address a wide range of human and ecological hazards

"The overall quality of the text, with the emphasis on providing transparency in the calculations, the quantitative description of uncertainty in the risk estimates, and the importance of proper risk characterization should help ensure that better quality risk assessments are conducted in the coming years. Students and practitioners will benefit significantly from the work of Dr. Paustenbach and his colleagues."
-From the Foreword by William K. Reilly, former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: Theory and Practice assembles the expertise of more than fifty authorities from fifteen different fields, forming a comprehensive reference and textbook on risk assessment. Containing two dozen case studies of environmental or human health risk assessments, the text not only presents the theoretical underpinnings of the discipline, but also serves as a complete handbook and ³how-to² guide for individuals conducting or interpreting risk assessments. In addition, more than 4,000 published papers and books in the field are cited.

Editor Dennis Paustenbach has assembled chapters that present the most current methods for conducting hazard identification, dose-response and exposure assessment, and risk characterization components for risk assessments of any chemical hazard to humans or wildlife (fish, birds, and terrestrials). Topics addressed include hazards posed by:
* Air emissions
* Radiological hazards
* Contaminated soil and foods
* Agricultural hazards
* Occupational hazards
* Consumer products and water
* Hazardous waste sites
* Contaminated air and water

The bringing together of so many of the world's authorities on these topics, plus the comprehensive nature of the text, promises to make Human and Ecological Risk Assessment the text against which others will be measured in the coming years.

DENNIS J. PAUSTENBACH, PhD, has held numerous leadership positions at two major consulting firms and was the founder of ChemRisk, the largest risk assessment consulting firm in the United States during the 1990s. He previously edited the popular The Risk Assessment of Human and Environmental Health Hazards: A Textbook of Case Studies and has worked on many high-profile environmental projects, including Times Beach, Love Canal, the New Jersey Meadowlands, and the Erin Brockovich case.