Ecological Risk Assessments in Terrestrial Systems: Discussion
of Habitat Characterization and Food Webs
Lawrence A. Kapustka, Ph.D.,
President and Senior Ecotoxicologist, Ecological Planning and Toxicology,
Inc., Corvallis, Oregon
Summary: Current practices in ecological risk assessment focus
almost entirely on chemical effects and generally fails to incorporate
biological and physical factors. In addition, conceptual exposure models
are often based on oversimplified assumptions of ecological relationships.
Also, the dynamic processes that occur within the soil substrate are seldom
addressed. In the context of land use patterns being the most critical
aspect affecting wildlife populations and regional biodiversity, the consequence
of these inadequacies in ecological risk assessment is that the risks
to some species can be greatly underestimated and the risks to other species
can be greatly exaggerated.
The purpose of this seminar is to address the emerging and compelling
need to improve the practice of ecological risk assessment. The recommended
approach can guide: (1) the selection of appropriate assessment species,
keyed to wildlife distribution ranges, (2) data collection for reconnaissance-,
screening- and definitive-level assessments, (3) the generation of spatially
explicit descriptions of habitat quality for assessment species, and (4)
the allocation of exposure estimates using both habitat quality and spatial
variations in chemical concentration. In addition, procedures to integrate
landscape features that define habitat quality as key modifiers of exposure
estimates will be discussed.
Biography: Lawrence Kapustka is President and Senior Ecotoxicologist
with Ecological Planning and Toxicology, Inc., a company he founded in
Corvallis, Oregon, in 1990. In addition to managing the firm, Dr. Kapustka
provides technical leadership in the areas of ecological risk assessment,
plant ecotoxicology, and other aspects of ecological applications. Dr.
Kapustka is currently engaged in research on phytotoxicology, terrestrial
food web analysis, and wildlife habitat suitability models.
After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma, Norman, in
1975, Dr. Kapustka joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin,
Superior, and of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, for thirteen years. His
research program at these institutions focused on dinitrogen fixation
and plant-microbial interactions, especially in grasslands. From 1988
to 1990, Dr. Kapustka was a research ecologist with, and a team leader
of, the Plant Toxicology and Hazardous Waste groups at the Environmental
Protection Agency's Environmental Research Laboratory, Corvallis, Oregon.
In this capacity, he planned, budgeted, and managed research that focused
on plant physiological and ecological responses to xenobiotic chemicals,
the development of ecological risk assessment methods, the development
of ecological/toxicological assessment approaches, and methods for assessing
ecological impacts at hazardous waste sites.
Dr. Kapustka has published more than 125 professional articles and technical
reports and has delivered scientific seminars and technical papers throughout
the United States, as well as in Canada, Chile, China, England, Estonia,
Hungary, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Yugoslavia. Certified as a Senior
Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America, he is a member of the
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) and the Ecological
Risk Assessment Advisory Group (ERAAG) and an active member of the American
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Biological Effects and Environmental
Fate Committee.
Spatially Explicit Risk-Based Approaches for Assessing
Environmental Value and Reuse Options at Contaminated Sites
Igor Linkov, Ph.D., Senior Risk Assessor,
ICF Consulting, Inc., Lexington, Massachusetts
Summary: Society has long realized that industrial
activities can disturb and/or contaminate habitats and ecosystems with
hazardous pollutants. This impact, however, may not necessarily be detrimental
to the environment. For example, closure of military installations and
other facilities can result in the conservation and protection of large
areas of habitat, both onsite and in areas adjacent to the site. A major
task for environmental policy- and decision-makers is to generate scientifically
justified reuse scenarios that would both prevent deterioration of site
habitats and favor development of biodiversity within the ecosystems adjacent
to site habitats.
In this seminar, the case will be made that spatially explicit
risk assessment, that takes into consideration the heterogeneous pattern
of site contamination and receptor migration, is the most effective way
to facilitate the assessment of the ecological value of contaminated and/or
disturbed sites and to develop a reuse decision protocol. The speaker
will discuss a number of risk and habitat assessment techniques that he
and his colleagues are currently developing and integrating into a computerized
risk-based framework.
Biography: Igor Linkov is a senior risk assessor
with ICF Consulting, Inc. He has more than ten years of experience in
performing high-quality ecological and human health risk assessments,
as well as environmental investigations of contaminated sites in the United
States and worldwide. Dr. Linkov's expertise includes ecological risk
assessment for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, the study of contaminated
sediments, technical support for the management of dredged sediments,
probabilistic risk assessment modeling, toxicology, and biostatistics.
Prior to joining ICF/Arthur D. Little, Dr. Linkov was a
senior scientist at Menzie-Cura & Associates, Inc., where he conducted
environmental risk assessments and supported the USACE Dredging Operation
and Environmental Research Program. While at Harvard University, he investigated
the carcinogenic potencies of chemicals for risk-based regulatory policies
and applied Bayesian updating methodology for fate and transport modeling.
Currently, Dr. Linkov is developing software for environmental modeling
and risk assessment. His current research interests include probabilistic
modeling and spatially explicit risk assessment, as well as the development
of risk-based approaches to support remedial policy decisions.
Dr. Linkov received his M.S. in physics and mathematics
from Polytechnic Institute, his M.S. in engineering and public policy
from Carnegie-Mellon University, and his Ph.D., in environmental, occupational,
and radiation health, from the University of Pittsburgh. In 1998, he received
a science and technology award from the Japan Science and Technology Center
in order to work at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences. Dr.
Linkov has served as a scientific reviewer for the Environmental Protection
Agency, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the European
Commission, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and eight scientific
journals. He has published three books and over fifty peer-reviewed papers
and book chapters. Dr. Linkov has organized three international conferences
and is currently organizing an international workshop on comparative risk
analysis.
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