Environmental Impact Assessment, Technology Assessment, And Risk Analysis

This book takes a look at issues such as air, soil and noise pollution problems, environmental quality assessment, monitoring, modelling and risk as- sessment, environmental health impact assessment, environmental management and envi- ronmental technology development. It represents institutional arrangements, financial mechanisms and some sustainable technologies.

The purpose of this book is to analyze, with actual examples, different techniques that have been developed to tackle the complex task of making an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of a project.
This book is subtitled A Practical Guide, precisely because it tries to guide the practitioner in this labyrinth of techniques, by suggesting the best tools to use in each case, complementing this with abundant Internet references that provide a fast way to get more information about specific concepts, and facilitating the examination of actual EIA in many different fields.

The book chapters clearly illustrate that while existing chemical risk assessment and risk management frameworks may provide a starting point, the unique properties of nanomaterials adds a significant level of complexity to this process. The focus of many chapters is on identification of strategies and tools that could currently be implemented to reduce technical uncertainty and prioritize research to address the immediate needs of the regulatory and risk assessment communities.

Under the best of circumstances, preparing an environmental impact assessment (EIA) can be a complex and challenging task. Experience indicates that the scope and quality of such analyses varies widely throughout the U.S. as well as internationally.