Risk Assessment, Management, and Accountability
Risk is a common metric for waste management. Societal expectations of acceptable risk are mandated by the standards and specifications of certifying authorities. Articulating the hazard (the agent of harm) is matched against the ways that people or other receptors may come into contact with that hazard, that is, exposure. Thus, risk management includes the policies, laws, and other societal endeavors that limit these two components of risk. From the hazard perspectives, regulatory agencies may decide that a product is too hazardous when it is manufactured, used, or when it becomes a waste product. Thus, the hazard may occur before a waste is generated, such as a component of a manufacturing process. Waste management success is a function of the amount of risk that has been reduced or avoided. Thus, the success of all waste operations is, to some extent, a reflection of the operation's hazards and potential exposures to these hazards. Decisions must be based on scientifically credible information. This information is part of the risk assessment that informs waste management decisions.
