Course syllabus

Course-PM

TEK675 TEK675 Environmental risk assessment lp3 VT24 (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 

Sanna Wickerts, sanna.wickerts@chalmers.se

Rahul Aggarwal, rahula@chalmers.se 

Jenny Norrman, jenny.norrman@chalmers.se 

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. Burgman. 2005. Risks and Decisions for Conservation and Environmental Management. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge. Chapter 1, 6, 8, 10, https://www.vlebooks.com/Product/Index/2005222?page=0Links to an external site. 
2. van Leeuwen and Vermeire 2007. Risk assessment of chemicals: an introduction. Springer: Dordrecht. Chapter 1, 4, 7, https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4020-6102-8Links to an external site. 
3.Boström. 2013. Existential risk prevention as global priority. Global Policy, 4, 1, 15-31, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1758-5899.12002Links to an external site. 
4. Suter. 1996. Guide for developing conceptual models for ecological risk assessment. US Department of Energy: Oak Ridge, https://rais.ornl.gov/documents/tm186.pdfLinks to an external site.  
6.Börjesson et al. 2002. Scenario types and techniques: Towards a user’s guide. Futures, 38, 723-739, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016328705002132Links to an external site. 
7. 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=bher20Links to an external site. 
8. 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/S0960148113007015Links to an external site.  
9. 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.xLinks to an external site. 
10. Boholm and Corvellec 2011. A relational theory of risk. Journal of Risk Research, 14, 2, 175-190, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13669877.2010.515313Links to an external site. 
11.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_22Links to an external site. 
12. Diamond et al. 2015. Exploring the planetary boundary for chemical pollution. Environment International, 78, 8-1, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412015000288Links to an external site.
13. Lecture notes (under "Lectures" under Modules)

 

Course design

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

Changes made since the last occasion

No major changes have been made sine the last occasion. A third exercise and a draft submission for project 2 have been added, as per student suggestions at the course evaluation meeting. The literature list has been slightly revised. 

Learning objectives 

1.    Explain the concept of risk according to a number of definitions and perspectives. 

2.    Construct conceptual models for environmental risk assessment. 

3.    Apply risk ranking in environmental contexts. 

4.    Apply quantitative environmental risk assessment to relevant cases. 

5.    Apply different approaches to uncertainty analysis in environmental risk assessment. 

 

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