What is Needed to Conduct a Good Risk Assessment
Overview
A thorough risk assessment requires a great deal of information.
Analysts evaluate the information in an organized and systematic way.
In addition to the information itself, analysts may also consider their
liability of the information by evaluating the quality of the surveillance
system in a given country, the laboratory capabilities, and other aspects
of the exporting country's quarantine programs. Risk assessments should
describe the uncertainties (the information or data that is not known),
the assumptions made, and the effect of these on the final risk estimate.
Risk assessments may be updated when additional information becomes available.
The APHIS approach begins by identifying the risky or hazardous activity or
commodity (Hazard Identification). It is important to describeprecisely the
activity or commodity to be evaluated and pinpoint any undesirable outcomes.
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