The Risk Assessment Information System (RAIS): Insights from the Evolution of an Online Region-Specific Tool to an International Environmental Risk Assessment Information Center. M. Clauberg, F. G. Dolislager, L. D. Bloom, D. J. Thomas, and C. W. McGinn; Forschungszentrum Juelich, Germany, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The University of Tennessee (UT) & Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Risk Assessment Information System (RAIS) is a web-based package of online tools developed to meet the risk information needs of the expert as well as the public. The RAIS originated as a tool to help the U.S. Department of Energy catalog & standardize risk assessment practices and procedures for the Oak Ridge Field Office. Over the years, the RAIS has gained registered users from 54 countries. These international users have joined registered users from 45 of the 50 states in the Unites States of America, and have contributed to the development and information available. The tools and the guidance presented on the RAIS have assisted the global risk community to be more familiar with the risk assessment process and its elements. The RAIS takes advantage of searchable and executable databases, menu-driven queries, and data downloads to provide tutorials, tools, guidance, risk results, and other risk information. The RAIS is based on US EPA guidance for performing risk assessments; however, the ability to modify various parameters, e.g. exposure values, has made the RAIS fit many diverse regional, supra-regional, and international needs. The integrated RAIS tools include: Preliminary Remediation Goals, U.S. Federal and State Water Guidelines, Toxicity Values, Toxicity Profiles, Chemical-Specific Factors, Human Health Risk Values, Ecological Benchmarks, Background Comparison, and Soil Screening Guidance Levels. The RAIS provides complete transparency and presents all equations, assumptions, and definitions of the tools and risk assessment process in user-friendly and publicly available webpages. A configuration control process ensures that all changes/additions are consistently controlled, documented, tracked, and distributed to users. These efforts have greatly enhanced the transparency of the basic risk assessment tasks for all stakeholders. (http://risk.lsd.ornl.gov/rap_hp.shtml)
The RAIS team wishes to acknowledge support by the University of Tennessee, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the US DOE Oak Ridge Operations Office, the US DOE Center for Risk Excellence, and the BechtelJacobs Company LLC.
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