Environmental risks and impacts - Environmental Deterioration and Contamination: Problems and their Management - page 202

Figure 8.5 Source-specific environmental risk management applies quantitative risk assessment result-
ing in an absolute risk value useful for decision making (RCR = risk characterization ratio).
making in the course of the management of chemicals, contaminated land and, to some
extent, the wastes is based on the quantitative assessment of the hazard and risk posed
by chemicals to identified receptors.
The receptor-specific management, explained in Figure 8.6, is based on the quality
of the environmental compartments, surface waters, soils, sediment, the air of the
cities, etc. Monitoring data serve as a basis of information on the current quality
and the trends in quality changes. The legislation of air and water as well as soil
specifies certain qualities and assigned interventions. When the quality worsens, the
first task is to find the cause of the deterioration by identifying contaminating physical,
chemical and biological agents, their potential emitters and users. We can understand
here the logic of the steps and the reason of integrated monitoring: the quality may
be characterized by ecological markers, but the deteriorating contaminant or other
agents should be identified by physical and chemical analysis or selective biological
tools. This is easier, when the information on the production and use of the hazardous
agents is already available.
Global warming, depletion of renewable and nonrenewable resources, soil dete-
rioration or invasive species are neither quantifiable nor additive. Moreover, negative