Setting Priorities|Comparative Risk Report

SETTING PRIORITIES|Comparative Risk Report

Project Name: New Hampshire Comparative Risk Project

    Ranking Results:

Environmental Risks Reflecting the Blended Judgments of the Public Advisory Group and Assuming Current Regulation, Ranked from High to Low Risk

    Project Description:

Geographical Coverage

Project Purpose

Ranking Process

Participants in the Ranking Process

Project Reference

Contact Information

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Ranking Results

Environmental Risks Reflecting the Blended Judgments of the Public Advisory Group and Assuming Current Regulation, Ranked from High to Low Risk
	Degradation of surface water habitat	general	area specific
	Airborne particulate matter	general	area specific
	Loss of land habitat from development		area specific
	Physical alteration of water & shoreland habitat		area specific
	Loss of water habitat (filling, draining)	general	area specific
	Acid Deposition (on forests, soils, inland waters, & estuaries)	general	area specific
	Environmental tobacco smoke ("second-hand smoke")	general	area specific
	Ultraviolet radiation (sunlight at "baseline" levels)		area specific
	Ingested lead (in food, etc.)	general	area specific
	Degradation of forest habitat by fragmentation
	Allergens & other non-infectious biologicals (mold, dust mites)	general
	Non-native organisms in water (introduced by plan or accident)	general	area specific
	Ground-level ozone	general	area specific
	Persistent organochlorines (DDT, PCBs, dioxin, etc.)	general	area specific
	Food contamination (microbiological, etc.)	general	area specific
	Arsenic in groundwater	general	area specific
	Non-native organisms on land	general	area specific
	Stratospheric ozone depletion	general	area specific
	Waterborne communicable diseases (e. coli, giardia, etc.)	general	area specific
	Mercury in surface water & land	general	area specific
	Pesticides		area specific
	Carbon monoxide indoors	general	area specific
	Environmental mediated disease (rabies, lyme, etc.)	general	area specific
	Petroleum in groundwater (spills and other releases)	general	area specific
	Nitrogen oxides	general	area specific
	hazardous wastes (non-petroleum hydrocarbons) in groundwater	general	area specific
	Infectious diseases in wildlife & fish (from human activity)	general	area specific
	Climate change (from "greenhouse gases," etc.)	general	area specific
	Radon indoors	general	area specific
	Sulfur oxides	general	area specific
	Lead in soil & sediment	general	area specific
	Nuclear reactors & associated high level radioactive waste		area specific
	Airborne environmental mediated diseases (TB, etc.)	general	area specific
	Volatile organic compounds indoors	general	area specific
	Nitrates (in surface water & groundwater)	general	area specific
	Petroleum in surface water (stormwater, spills, motorcraft, etc.)	general	area specific
	Soil damage - erosion		area specific
	Air toxics	general	area specific
	Chlorination byproducts (THMs, etc.)	general	area specific
	Non-reactor sources of low level radioactive wastes		area specific
	Other metals in surface water, sediment, on land (localized conc.)	general	area specific
	Road salt - impact on land use		area specific
	Asbestos in indoor air	general	area specific
	Road salt - impact on groundwater		area specific
	Carbon monoxide outdoors	general	area specific
	Extreme weather	general	area specific
	Food additives & preservatives	general	area specific
	Sludge & septage		area specific
	Other metals in drinking water	general	area specific
	Volatile organic compounds outdoors	general
	Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface water (spills, etc.)	general	area specific
	Asbestos in groundwater	general	area specific
	EMF radiation	general	area specific
	Fluoride	general	area specific
	Earthquakes	general	area specific

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Project Description

	Geographical Coverage: State of New Hampshire
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	Project Purpose: The purpose of the project is to increase understanding of environmental risks by addressing two questions: (1) What environmental problems pose the greatest risks to New Hampshire's people and the environment? and (2) How should public, private, and individual environmental protection efforts be targeted in New Hampshire to protect public health, the environment, and the state's economic well-being and unique quality of life? The New Hampshire Comparative Risk Project focused its work on risks to New Hampshire's environmental quality of life, defined as "healthy people, healthy ecology, and healthy economy." Project members wanted to be able to distinguish "fear" from "environmental hazard," and work to reduce hazard.
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	Ranking Process: The 55 members of the Public Advisory Group met 20 times over three years to study and rank 55 risks to New Hampshire's environmental quality of life, as identified by both experts and average citizens. Once the risks were identified, technical work group leaders in Ecological Integrity and Public Health wrote short, concise, peer-reviewed, readable technical reports with consistent format for each risk. Almost 100 ecological scientists and public health experts contributed specific technical assessment for many of the risks, using consistent criteria to describe the severity, extent, reversibility, and uncertainty of each risk on a descriptive scale of 1 to 5. The Economic Perspectives technical work group reported on any risk with available, NH-specific, quantitative economic data. A Public Advisory Group subcommittee developed the report on overall environmental quality of life, which is the focus of the Project. The Group then ranked the 55 risks during nine day-long meetings, starting with groups of risks sorted by environmental media of air, water, food, and land use, and multi-media. Members worked in small and large groups -- analyzing, listening, discussing, and recording their ranking and rationales. They explicitly considered the scientific information in the technical reports, along with each member's individual judgment and values. The Report of Ranked Environmental Risks in New Hampshire (May 1997) contains the technical information, and For Our Future: A Guide to Caring for New Hampshire's Environment summarized the work of the Project.
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	Participants in the Ranking Process: General Public Governmental Agencies Private Sector/Industry Public Interest/Nonprofit Organizations Scientific/Academic Community All of the above stakeholder groups were representatives in the Public Advisory Group.
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	Reference: New Hampshire Comparative Risk Project. Report of Ranked Environmental Risks in NH. May 1997. http://www.thejordaninstitute.org
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	Contact Information: Kate Hartnett New Hampshire Comparative Risk Project 18 Low Avenue Concord, NH 03301 phone: (603) 226-1009 fax: (603) 226-0042 http://www.thejordaninstitute.org khartnett@thejordaninstitute.org
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