Environmental Services - III. Health Risk Assessment
The single most effective way to control site cleanup costs - by orders of magnitude - is to establish health-protective cleanup criteria appropriate to the site and your development plans.

Today, human health risk assessment is a crucial element in the successful management and cleanup of sites contaminated with hazardous waste. Health risk assessment is the process of evaluating the potential impacts to human health caused by exposure to hazardous chemicals. As such, Integrated uses risk assessment to determine the extent of cleanup needed at a given contaminated site. By considering the site’s proposed land use, development plans, and future occupants, the risk assessment answers the potentially million dollar question, “How clean is clean?”

All environmental regulations are designed to protect human health and welfare. In the past, however, many regulations have been interpreted to mean that during the life cycle of a facility, any amount of hazardous chemicals released or left behind at the site would impact human health and the environment. In recent years, particularly under the EPA’s Brownfield’s initiative, health risk assessment has evolved as an effective management tool for quantifying such impacts, identifying cleanup alternatives, and justifying variances or exemptions to the norm. At Integrated we often use risk assessment in lieu of or in conjunction with remedial actions to demonstrate that no additional action is needed or that less stringent operational parameters or cleanup levels are acceptable. Our realistic assessments of site risk allow us to create practical remedial approaches that not only protect human health and the environment, but also decrease site cleanup costs and keep real estate transactions and redevelopment projects on track.

Risk Characterization and Risk-Based Planning
For every assignment, we leverage our knowledge and experience in risk assessment for strategic benefit. We routinely analyze the potential health risks, costs, and benefits of different land uses and remedial technologies to devise the most effective remedial approach. In this way Integrated not only protects human health but also conserves client resources.

Integrated joins experienced professionals with effective techniques to profile, partition and quantify both human-health and ecological risks associated with facility operations. In addition to assessing the nature and magnitude of potential health risks, we identify mitigative measures that can be implemented to manage the risks and maximize the use of corporate resources.

With our expertise and experience in risk characterization and risk management, we are able to transform our client’s point of view from that of reactive environmental compliance to one of proactive risk-based contingency planning. In so doing, many opportunities for improved performance and reduced cost are created.

Risk-based planning focuses on understanding and managing the risk in addition to managing the response. With the findings of qualitative and quantitative risk assessments, we can effectively prioritize remedial strategies and identify high-risk areas that require immediate mitigation. Such valuable information not only enables the business owner to head off potential environmental emergencies and disasters but also to maintain regulatory compliance with the most effective and efficient use of precious corporate resources to achieve the greatest benefit. Resourceful risk-based planning shortens the learning curve, avoids redundancies, and keeps the team focused at all times.

Equipped with site-specific risk data and associated mitigative measures, Integrated can then negotiate with the regulatory agencies on cleanup levels and devise a cost-effective compliance program for the client.
In summary, Integrated excels in the use of health risk assessment coupled with forward-thinking risk management to ensure the best use of valuable resources and achieve maximum return for the client.