A risk assessment report typically comprises of an analytic synthesis of all the relevant steps and results of the risk assessment process, including an overview of the context and scope of the risk assessment, methodology used and a detailed summary of the results of the overall risk estimation, including the identification of individual risks, as well as the likelihood and consequences of the potential adverse effects.
The report may also contain an evaluation of the availability and quality of the scientific and technical information that was deemed necessary to perform the assessment and characterize the risks, and whether or not there were gaps in the information.
An analysis of all identifiable uncertainties and how they may impact the overall conclusions of the assessment is also a critical element of the report. This includes uncertainties identified at each step of the risk assessment process as well as those remaining at the end of the risk assessment.
Finally, the risk assessment report often contains a set of recommendations regarding the acceptability and manageability of the risks posed by the LMO and the identification of appropriate risk management and monitoring strategies. The information above can be organized under five broad topics depending on the requirements of the National Authority that is responsible for the risk assessment:
- Background, context and scope of the risk assessment;
- Characterization and estimation of risks;
- Description of risk management and monitoring strategies identified during the risk assessment;
- Consideration of remaining uncertainty; and
- Recommendations as to whether or not the risks are acceptable or manageable.
An overview of the information which may be included under each of these topics may be found in the following sections of this module.
