Course syllabus

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TEK675 Environmental risk assessment lp3 VT23 (7.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Technology Management and Economics

Contact details

Examiner: 

Rickard Arvidsson, rickard.arvidsson@chalmers.se 

Teachers: 

Sverker Molander, sverker.molander@chalmers.se 

Gregory Peters, petersg@chalmers.se 

Efstathios Reppas Chrysovitsinos, reppas@chalmers.se 

Rahul Aggarwal, rahula@chalmers.se 

Jenny Norrman, jenny.norrman@chalmers.se 

Rosana Moraes

Course purpose

The aim of the course is for the students to become knowledgeable about environmental risks and be able to apply environmental risk assessment.

Schedule

See pdf file under "Schedule" under Modules. 

Course literature

1.Kaplan S, Garrick BJ. 1981. On The Quantitative Definition of Risk. Risk Anal 1(1): 11-27, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1539-6924.1981.tb01350.x 
2.Boström. 2013. Existential risk prevention as global priority. Global Policy, 4, 1, 15-31, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1758-5899.12002 
3. Suter. 1996. Guide for developing conceptual models for ecological risk assessment. US Department of Energy: Oak Ridge, https://rais.ornl.gov/documents/tm186.pdf  
4. Burgman. 2005. Risks and Decisions for Conservation and Environmental Management. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. Chapter 6, 8, 10, https://www.vlebooks.com/Product/Index/2005222?page=0 
5.Swedish Chemicals Agency. 2020. Hazard and risk assessment of chemicals – an introduction, https://www.kemi.se/download/18.32f4eb311753c0a67fe1cf6/1604653630900/Guidance-Hazard-and-risk-assessment-an-introduction.pdf 
6. van Leeuwen and Vermeire 2007. Risk assessment of chemicals: an introduction. Springer: Dordrecht. Chapter 1, 4, 7, https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4020-6102-8 
7.Börjesson et al. 2002. Scenario types and techniques: Towards a user’s guide. Futures, 38, 723-739, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016328705002132 
8. Moraes et al. Establishing Causality between Exposure to Metals and Effects on Fish. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, 9, 149-169, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/713609857?journalCode=bher20 
9. Hammar et al. Assessing ecological risks of offshore wind power on Kattegat cod. Renewable Energy, 66, 414-424, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148113007015  
10. Slovic et al. 1982. Why study risk perception? Risk Analysis, 2, 2, 83-93, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1539-6924.1982.tb01369.x 
11. Boholm and Corvellec 2011. A relational theory of risk. Journal of Risk Research, 14, 2, 175-190, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13669877.2010.515313 
12.Harremoës et al. 2001. Late lessons from early warnings: the precautionary principle 1896-2000. Environmental Environment Agency: Copenhagen. Chapter 1, 16, https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/environmental_issue_report_2001_22 
13. Diamond et al. 2015. Exploring the planetary boundary for chemical pollution. Environment International, 78, 8-1, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412015000288 

Course design

The course consists of lectures, two exercises that can grant bonus points, two compulsory seminars, and a written exam. The written exam will be conducted at Campus using the digital software Inspera. More information about the exercises and seminars can be found under Modules. 

Changes made since the last occasion

No major changes have been made sine the last occasion. The literature list has been somewhat revised. The topic of seminar 2 has been changes and supervision slots have been added. 

Learning objectives 

  1. Explain the concept of risk according to the following definitions and perspectives:
    a. risk as function of probability and consequence
    b. risk ratios
    c. risk perception
    d. the relational theory of risk
    e. existential risks 
  2. Describe a number of important historical and contemporary environmental risks
  3. Construct conceptual models in risks analysis by applying the following terminology:
    a. source
    b. stressor
    c. pathways 
    d. endpoint/receptor
  4. Describe and apply the following methods for environmental risk assessment:
    a. risk ranking
    b. probabilistic risk assessment using fault trees
    c. risk assessment of chemicals, including exposure assessment, effect assessment and risk characterization
  5. Apply the following uncertainty analysis methods:
    a. scenario analysis
    b. Monte Carlo simulations
  6. c. weight-of-evidence

Examination form

In order to pass the course, the student must pass the exam and the two compulsory seminars. Successful participation in the exercises can grant bonus points. The maximum points on the exam is 50 and the maximum number of bonus points from exercises is 2. Grade 3 is given at 25 points, grade 4 at 34 points, and grade 5 at 43 points. 

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen: Study plan

Course summary:

Date Details Due