This paper and practice lab was the culminating assignment for Environmental and Occupational Health Risk Assessment (MPH 632). Practice labs allow MPH students to apply classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios.

In this exercise, students were presented with a specific scenario in which a risk assessment was needed. The setting involved a large petroleum transfer station and shipping port located within a mile of an elementary school and less than five miles from a highly populated residential area.

Key objectives for this lab included identifying risk management recommendations and summarizing how these recommendations should be prioritized and implemented with specific examples. Recommendations for risk management included the following:

1. Install engineering controls that allow the ability to detect and contain leaks or fires, including an automatic shutdown process.
2. Implement administrative controls for training, inspection and maintenance, and standard operating procedures for all transfer operations.
3. Develop emergency plans in collaboration with local law enforcement and fire departments. Include adequate and thorough response actions to every potential incident. Ensure the nearby elementary school is aware of actions to take in the event of an emergency.

Risk management planning is a crucial public health activity to systematically identify, analyze, and monitor potential risks in order to prevent or reduce the impact that emergencies and incidents may have on the public and the environment.

Practice-Lab-Environmental-Risk-Assessment