A Comparison of Comparative Risk Assessments: Evaluating Four Minnesota Projects. K. Sexton, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
To aid in setting environmental priorities, comparative risk assessments have been conducted at national and regional scales by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, at state scales by more than half of the 50 states, and at local scales by numerous counties, municipalities, cities, and tribes. Yet despite the growing use of this tool to help establish risk-based priorities for regulatory policy and decision making, relatively little effort has been devoted to evaluating its contribution to better environmental decisions or comparing the merit of different approaches and techniques. This presentation compares and contrasts four comparative risk projects conducted during the past several years in Minnesota, three by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and one by the University of Minnesota with support from the McKnight Foundation. The four projects involve risk-based prioritization of: (1) environmental issues under the purview of MPCA’s Ground Water and Solid Waste Division (1992 – 1996), (2) environmental issues under the purview of MPCA’s Hazardous Waste Division (1992 – 1994), (3) major environmental problems within MPCA’s jurisdiction (1996 – 1997), and (4) environmental stressors on the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway conducted under the auspices of the University of Minnesota (1996 – 1997). Findings indicate that while they share important common features, these comparative risk assessments differ significantly in terms of goals (scope and direction), process (estimation and comparison of risks), outcome (nature and form of results), and impact (effect on decision making). Results are used to examine strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches, to draw conclusions about preferred methods and techniques, and to suggest ways that comparative risk assessment can become a more valuable decision-making tool.
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