Module 1: Introduction to Risk

• Define risk

Module 2: Introduction to Risk Assessment

• Differentiate between risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication

Module 3: The Four Components of Risk Assessment

• List and explain the four components of risk assessment
• Demonstrate how the four components relate to risk management
• Discuss the differences and similarities between the IARC and the EPA weight-of-evidence classification systems for carcinogens
• Differentiate between dose and environmental concentration
• List possible sources of toxicity data
• Explain the difference between the cancer and non-cancer dose-response models
• Define reference dose and explain how it is calculated and used in risk assessments
• List the main criteria for a standard chronic cancer rodent bioassay
• Define cancer potency factor and explain how it is calculated and used in risk assessments
• List four key variables in exposure assessment
• Explain the three main ways to estimate exposure
• Discuss assumptions, limitations, special issues, concerns with current risk assessment framework

Module 4: Regulatory Toxicology

• Discuss the attributes of toxic effects
• Specify potential toxicities for a given target system in the body

Module 5: Risk Assessment for Hazardous Waste Sites (CERCLA, Superfund)

• List and explain the stages of a hazardous waste site risk assessment
• Define and give examples of ARARs
• Define and give examples of TBCs

Module 6: Risk Assessment and Drinking Water (Safe Drinking Water Act, MCLs)

• Explain the difference between an MCL and an MCLG
• Discuss the criteria used to develop MCLGs for chemical contaminants

Module 7: Risk Assessment of Chemical Mixtures

• Explain the decision-making process of chemical mixtures risk assessment, including the treatment of whole mixtures vs. mixture components 
• Define dose addition and response addition and give examples of when one or the other is used 

Module 8: Ecological Risk Assessment

• Outline the regulatory basis for ERAs 
• Describe characteristics of ecological study units and how contaminants might affect those characteristics 

Module 9: Risk Communication

• Discuss reasons that effective risk communication is important 
• Explain how public perceptions of risk can present barriers to risk communication 
• Discuss the pros and cons of qualitative and quantitative risk communication strategies
• Understand the role of the media in the dissemination of health information to the public 

Module 10: Uncertainty Analysis

• Differentiate between uncertainty and variability 
• Compare and contrast a point estimate, an interval estimate and a probabilistic distribution 
• Describe methods used for qualitative and quantitative uncertainty analysis 
• Explain how a sensitivity analysis and a Monte Carlo simulation are performed, and compare and contrast the results from the two calculations