NIFK15005U Environmental and Human Health Risk Assessment of Chemicals

Volume 2015/2016
Education

MSc Programme in Environmental Chemistry and Health

Content

The purpose of the course is to provide the students with an in-depth knowledge of the current risk assessment procedures for chemicals within the European Union.

The course consists of two parts: 1) Principles for risk regulation and risk management, and 2) Practical implications for conducting risk assessment of a chemical, including the type of data needed for exposure and effect assessments and how these are used within the different risk assessment frameworks.

The course will cover both environmental and human health issues, including examples such as food additives, solvents, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and industrial chemicals. Furthermore, the course serves to give the students an introduction to handling "other effect types" (e.g., allergy, carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, mutagenicity) and emerging contaminants (e.g., endocrine disruptors, nanomaterials) in risk assessments.

There will be a general introduction to relevant risk assessment frameworks and the ethical and economic principles underlying risk regulation and risk management, including discussion of risk perception studies and risk communication. Risk regulation and risk management options will be discussed in connection with the examples used throughout the course.

Learning Outcome

Knowledge:

  • Give an overview of the most important frameworks for chemical risk assessment in the EU
  • Define the principles for setting limit values in the environment and for human health
  • Describe exposure scenarios and the principles of the exposure and effect assessments of chemical substances in the context of EU risk assessment frameworks

 

Skills:

  • Classify chemicals according to their hazards to humans and the environment and the relevant risk assessment framework
  • Identify relevant data for human health and environmental risk assessments of chemicals
  • Apply and critically evaluate methods for effect and exposure assessment of chemicals

 

Competences:

  • Analyze and discuss the principles underlying currently used regulatory frameworks for risk assessment of chemicals
  • Set, evaluate and discuss limit values for the environment and human health
  • Analyze, evaluate and discuss chemical risk assessment reports

The course literature will be collected in a compendium, which will be available before course start.

Competences equivalent to the following mandatory courses in the M.Sc. programme Environmental Chemistry and Health: Toxicology and Ecotoxicology, Environmental Epidemiology, Air Pollution and Health, Aquatic Environmental Chemistry, and Terrestrial Environmental Chemistry.
Lectures, case studies, exercises
The course is mandatory for students following the M.Sc. programme Environmental Chemistry and Health
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 1
  • Exercises
  • 36
  • Lectures
  • 36
  • Preparation
  • 72
  • Study Groups
  • 60
  • Total
  • 205
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Oral examination, 20 min. preparation + 20 min. exam
Oral examination based on two mandatory course reports and questions given at the day of the exam
Exam registration requirements

Two mandatory course reports

Aid
Only certain aids allowed

Written works of reference are permitted

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Re-exam

The same as the ordinary exam.
If the student has not handed in the mandatory reports, then they must be handed in two weeks prior to the deadline of registration for the re-exam. They must be approved before the re-exam.

Criteria for exam assesment

See learning outcome