Environmental Risk Assessment evaluates which of the following?

• A. Economic costs
• B. Political feasibility
• C. Public opinion
• D. The likelihood and consequences of potential accidents

Answer: (D)

Environmental Risk Assessment focuses on assessing risk by looking at both how likely an adverse event is and what its consequences could be for people and the environment. It involves identifying hazards, estimating the probability of events like leaks or spills, evaluating how those events could spread through air, water, or soil, and estimating the potential environmental and health impacts. The goal is to characterize risk and understand what would happen under different scenarios, so decisions can be made about controls and mitigation.

Why this fits best: ERA is about probability and impact of potential accidents, not about costs, political feasibility, or public opinion. Economic costs are part of economic analyses, political feasibility concerns policy implementation, and public opinion reflects social response rather than environmental risk in itself. In ERA, you’re directly evaluating the chance of an event and the magnitude of its effects, which is why this option is the correct focus.