许多土地被人类活动退化或破坏,包括来自工业和军事设施的污染。美国和其他工业化国家都有第二次世界大战遗留的废物,冷战,和工业化。越来越需要将退化的土地恢复到合适的未来土地利用,包括生态公园和保护区。本文提出了了解人类健康风险所需的不同信息级别的概念模型,环境,和生态资源。我提出了一个四部分的方法:1)评估生态资源的一般模型,2)修复或修复项目所需的评估模型,3)滑动尺度,原因的概念模型,事件,以及导致暴露和风险的来源,和4)包括环境正义(公平,多样性和包容性)作为传统暴露评估的必要考虑。虽然生态风险评估中涉及的因素已经确立,人类健康的结合,生态健康,和环境正义决定补救或恢复项目的风险不是。对人类健康有用的主要因素,环境,生态评价包括原因,事件(地震,事故,化学释放),来源,暴露,和信息挑战,以及暴露的障碍。我建议通过环境正义(多样性,股本,和内含物)透镜应该是风险评估的关键组成部分。这些因素中的每一个都涉及在评估风险和与监管机构沟通时必须考虑的滑动尺度或连续体,资源受托人,土地管理者和公众。概念模型还用作获取有关环境的信息的模板,这些信息对于传达不同风险因素的重要性很有用。该模型是为考虑对能源部土地进行补救而开发的,它可以更广泛地应用于其他项目。
Many lands were degraded or destroyed by human activities, including contamination from industry and military facilities. The United States and other industrialized counties have legacy wastes remaining from the Second World War, the Cold War, and industrialization. There is increasing need to return degraded land to suitable future land uses, including ecological parks and preserves. This paper proposes a conceptual model of the different levels of information needed to understand the risk to human health, the environment, and ecological resources. I propose a four-part approach: 1) general model for assessing ecological resources, 2) model for assessment needed for remediation or
restoration projects, 3) a sliding scale, conceptual model for causes, events, and sources that lead to exposure and risk, and 4) an additional step that includes environmental justice (equity, diversity and inclusion) as a necessary consideration of traditional exposure assessment. While the factors involved in ecological risk assessment are well established, the combination of human health, ecological health, and environmental justice determining risk for remediation or
restoration projects is not. Major factors useful for human health, environmental, and ecological evaluation include causes, events (earthquakes, accidents, chemical releases), sources, exposure, and informational challenges, as well as barriers to exposure. I propose that exposure through an environmental justice (diversity, equity, and inclusion) lens should be a key component of risk assessment. Each of these factors involves a sliding scale or continuum that must be considered in evaluating risk and communicating with the regulators, resource trustees, land managers and the public. The conceptual model also serves as a template for obtaining information about the environment that will be useful for communicating the importance of different risk factors. The model was developed for consideration of remediation on Department of Energy lands, it can be applied more broadly to other projects.