Environmental and Human Health Risk Assessment of Chemicals
Course content
The purpose of the course is to provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the current risk assessment procedures for chemicals within the European Union.
The course will give a general introduction to underlying values and potential conflicts concerning risk management, including 1) the ethics of risk, the normative content of risk, measurement and comparison of risks, risk communication and risk perception studies; and 2) general risk management principles, including the separation of risk assessment and risk management, principles for acceptable risk and the Precautionary Principle.
The following risk assessment frameworks will be presented: REACH, pesticides, biocides, veterinary medicines and feed additives, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food additives. For each, the practical implications for conducting risk assessment of a chemical are identified, including the type of data needed for exposure and effect assessments and the requirements for these within the different risk assessment frameworks. Also, the legal structure and the risk management principles underlying each framework will be identified and discussed in the light of alternative risk management options.
The course will conclude by introducing the emerging challenges from new contaminants (e.g., endocrine disruptors, nanomaterials) and cocktail effects.
MSc Programme in Environmental Science
Competences:
• Analyze and discuss the principles underlying currently used regulatory frameworks for risk assessment of chemicals within the EU
• Discuss data requirements for human health and environmental risk assessments of chemicals within various risk assessment frameworks
• Discuss potential solutions to emerging challenges for risk assessment and risk management.
• Discuss, apply and critically evaluate methods for effect and exposure assessment of chemicals within the various risk assessment frameworks
Skills:
• Classify chemicals according to their hazards to humans and the environment
• Identify relevant data for human health and environmental risk assessments of chemicals within the various risk assessment frameworks
• Apply and critically evaluate methods for effect and exposure assessment of chemicals within the various risk assessment frameworks
• Identify the risk management principles underlying specific risk assessment frameworks.
• Identify emerging challenges for specific risk assessment frameworks
Knowledge:
• Overview of the following frameworks for chemical risk assessment in the EU: REACH, pesticides, biocides, human medicines, food additives, as well as veterinary medicines, biocides, and feed additives and, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food additives.
• Identify emerging challenges for risk assessment and risk management, including endocrine disruptors nanoparticles and cocktail effects.
• Overview of the ethics of risk and general risk management principles
• Describe basic findings in risk perception studies
Lectures, case studies, exercises. Two written assignments (course 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.
Academic qualifications equivalent to a BSc degree is
recommended.
Continuous personal and collective oral feedback is given during the exercises. Students receive personal written and oral peer feedback on their written assignments as well as personal written and collective oral feedback from the teacher.
- ECTS
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
-
Written assignment, 12h12 hour take home assignment
- Aid
- All aids allowed
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- External censorship
Criteria for exam assessment
See learning outcome
Single subject courses (day)
- Category
- Hours
- Lectures
- 36
- Preparation
- 122
- Practical exercises
- 36
- Exam
- 12
- English
- 206
Kursusinformation
- Language
- English
- Course number
- NIFK15005U
- ECTS
- 7,5 ECTS
- Programme level
- Full Degree Master
- Duration
-
1 block
- Schedulegroup
-
A
- Capacity
- Minimum 10
Maximum 40 - Studyboard
- Study Board of Natural Resources, Environment and Animal Science
Contracting department
- Department of Food and Resource Economics
Contracting faculty
- Faculty of Science
Course Coordinator
- Mads Paludan Goddiksen (3-75786f48716e7a7736737d366c73)
Teacher
Mads Paludan Goddiksen (mpg@ifro.ku.dk)
Guest lecturers
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Courseinformation of students