Which set lists the primary steps in a community environmental health risk assessment?

• A. Hazard identification; dose-response assessment; exposure assessment; risk characterization
• B. Risk management; policy development; outreach; enforcement
• C. Data collection only
• D. Surveillance and health communication

Answer: (A)

Understanding environmental health risk assessment starts with identifying what could cause harm, then figuring out how dose relates to effect, then estimating who is exposed and to what extent, and finally combining all of this into a clear statement of risk with uncertainties.

Hazard identification asks which agents or conditions have the potential to cause adverse health effects in exposed populations. Dose-response assessment looks at how the frequency or severity of those effects changes with different levels of exposure. Exposure assessment estimates how much of the agent people encounter, how often, and in what ways. Risk characterization brings together all these pieces to describe the overall risk, including the degree of uncertainty and the variation among individuals, so that decisions about protection and control can be made.

Other options describe activities that come after assessment (risk management and policy actions) or aspects of monitoring and communication, rather than the formal four-step analysis used to quantify and describe risk.