RISK21 Web Tool Version 2.0 User Guide
The RISK21 Web Tool allows users to visually compare exposure and toxicity information. A user guide is provided below. Specific inquiries or questions related to the webtool can be directed to risk21@hesiglobal.org.
NOTE: The RISK21 tool does NOT cache data or automatically store information. Users must download the appropriate reports / files in order to keep a record of work.
SELECT A PLOT TYPE
Choose the type of plot you want to make using the tabs in the top left corner of the screen. There are two types of plots that can be created:
1) A Toxicological Threshold of Concern (TTC) Plot
PROBLEM FORMULATION (both plot types)
Provide text to describe the data used to generate the plots. Problem formulation is the first, and arguably most important, step in the RISK21 roadmap.
The problem formulation is intended to establish purpose, scope and a plan for collecting and evaluating information that will guide the effective use of resources at each stage of the assessment process. This planning process systematically identifies the major factors to be considered in a particular evaluation. The USEPA’s Guidelines on Ecological Risk Assessment were the first to introduce the concept of problem formulation, defining it as the analytical phase of the assessment wherein, “…the purpose of the assessment is articulated, the problem is defined and a plan for analyzing and characterizing risk is determined” (USEPA, 1998). More recently, the importance of problem formulation has become more widely recognized in human health risk assessment and endorsed by several groups (USEPA, 1992; National Academy of Sciences, 2009; World Health Organization, 2009; Sheldon, 2010).
Problem formulation sets the stage for the ensuing risk assessment and identifies initial information on the chemistry, the occurrence and/or use, route of exposure, the human population to be considered, and the nature of the hazard to be assessed, among other categories of data.
The following is a suggested set of considerations to guide problem formulation. Problem formulation may be revisited and refined during the course of the evaluation until sufficient precision of the data is reached to make a decision:
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- Scenario: A description of the situation including background on the occurrence and/or use of a biological, chemical, or physical agent.
- Existing knowledge: An assembly and evaluation of the available chemical, physical, and biological information including knowledge of chemical class and hypothesized modes of action (including related substances), when available.
- Context:
o A definition of the overall chemical life cycle and determine which parts of the life cycle are to be included in the risk assessment.
o A description of the potential exposure scenarios.
o A description of the potential exposed population(s).
- Statement of the purposeof the assessment such as priority setting, screening, product selection, assessment of an existing situation, evaluation of a new use of an existing product, reassessment of acceptable exposure levels, assessment of combined exposures, or definitive risk assessment.
o Identification of the decision point (e.g., an acceptable margin of exposure, or MOE).
o Consideration of the available regulatory options that are available, if applicable
INSTRUCTIONS FOR TTC PLOTS
Click on the various bolded sections of the menu on the left-hand side to access the following:
- Graph Properties
- Title: Add a title for your plot
- Units: Select mg/kg/d or ug/kg/d for units of exposure
- TTC Class: Choose the appropriate TTC class depending on the chemical you are interested in plotting. You can also enter in a specific TTC value by choosing “other” and then specifying the value in the “TTC Value” field
- NOTE: You need to prepare a separate graph for each separate TTC class
- Exposure axis: allows you to set the max and min values of the X (exposure) axis
**Note: to make the updates to the graph click “Refresh”
- Image Properties
o You can check the box to allow generation of .tiff or hi-resolution images
- Results
- This tab provides the various options for reporting and saving the results, which are detailed in the “Exporting Results” section below.
TO INPUT INFORMATION AND CREATE A TTC PLOT:
1) Scroll to the bottom of the screen
2) Click “Add scenario / chemical”
3) Type in the chemical name
4) Select your preferred Display Options using the drop down boxes:
- A color for the line as shown on the graph (or you can use the default color)
- Line type (solid, dotted, dashed, etc)
- Line width (thin, medium, thick)
5) Input the exposure point estimate (mg/kg/d OR ug/kg/d – select via dropdown menu)
6) Add additional scenarios / chemicals as appropriate; information can be modified by clicking on the specific line item and editing
7) Scenarios / chemicals can be deleted by selecting and then clicking on the “Delete scenario/chemical” button
8) If you wish to upload a batch file, you must use the following format – note that all fields must be included, even if they are blank. Upload the file as a .txt file (Unicode, tab delimited).
| Name | Color | LineType | LineWidth | Density | TextLocation | MinExposure | MaxExposure | PointExposure | UFExposure | MinToxicity | MaxToxicity | PointToxicity | UFToxicity |
| Chemical A | [automatic] | solid | thin | high | above-left | NaN | NaN | ADD VALUE HERE | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
| Chemical B | [automatic] | solid | thin | high | above-left | NaN | NaN | ADD VALUE HERE | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
| Chemical C | [automatic] | solid | thin | high | above-left | NaN | NaN | ADD VALUE HERE | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
| Chemical D | [automatic] | solid | thin | high | above-left | NaN | NaN | ADD VALUE HERE | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
Click here to download this table as an Excel Spreadsheet.
Note: Input exposure values in the “PointExposure field”; leave “NaN” in the blank fields or the file will not upload properly.
9) The graph will automatically populate any changes / additions to the chemical information. If you make changes to the graph properties, hit “refresh” for them to take effect.
10) Once a list of chemicals has been input or uploaded, you can check or uncheck the check boxes on the left side of the list to hide certain chemicals and toggle between different scenarios. Each check box will display plot information for a chemical unless manually unchecked.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RISK PLOTS
Click on the various bolded sections of the menu on the left-hand side to access the following:
- Graph Properties
- Title: Add a title for your plot
- Units: Choose the units that you would like to use for your plot. NOTE that the information on each chemical’s toxicity and exposure MUST be in the same units!
- Hide Chemical Names: Checking this box will create a legend
- Exposure axis: allows you to set the max and min values of the X (exposure) axis
- Toxicity axis: allows you to set the max and min values of the X (exposure) axis
- Acceptable Margin of Exposure (MOE): The default value is automatically set to one; changing this value will shift the shading on the matrix such that the yellow line is set to your applicable MOE. This number must be >1.
**Note: to make the updates to the graph click “Refresh”
- Image Properties
o You can check the box to allow generation of .tiff or hi-resolution images
- Results
This tab provides the various options for reporting and saving the results, which are detailed in the “Exporting Results” section below.
TO INPUT INFORMATION AND CREATE A PLOT:
1) Scroll to the bottom of the screen
2) Click “Add scenario / chemical”
2) Type in the chemical name
3) Select your preferred Display Options using the drop down boxes:
- A color for the box as shown on the graph (or you can use the default color)
- Line type (solid, dotted, dashed, etc)
- Line width (thin, medium, thick)
- Density (filled, high, medium, etc)
- Text location (above-left, below-left, etc)
4) Exposure estimate
- Input the applicable range of exposure numerical values (lowest to highest) for your scenario or chemical
- Optional: add in an exposure point estimate and an uncertainty percentage. A point estimate must be added in order to include the uncertainty percentage.
- NOTE: You can add in both an exposure point estimate and an exposure range
5) Toxicity estimate
- Input the applicable range of toxicity numerical values for your scenario or chemical from lowest to highest (maximum toxicity to minimum toxicity)
- Optional: add in a toxicity point estimate
- NOTE: You can add in both a toxicity point estimate and a toxicity range
- Optional: add in an applicable uncertainty factor. Note that this function will only work when a point estimate is provided; the UF will be applied to that value and not directly to the highest toxicity value in the range.
6) If you wish to upload a batch file, you must use the following format – note that all fields must be included, even if they are blank. Upload the file as a .txt file (Unicode, tab delimited).
| Name | Color | LineType | LineWidth | Density | TextLocation | MinExposure | MaxExposure | PointExposure | UFExposure | MinToxicity | MaxToxicity | PointToxicity | UFToxicity |
| Chemical / Scenario A | [automatic] | solid | thin | filled | above-left | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
| Chemical / Scenario B | [automatic] | solid | thin | filled | above-left | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
| Chemical / Scenario C | [automatic] | solid | thin | filled | above-left | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
| Chemical / Scenario D | [automatic] | solid | thin | filled | above-left | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
| Chemical / Scenario E | [automatic] | solid | thin | filled | above-left | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN | NaN |
Click here to download this table as an Excel Spreadsheet.
Note: Input values; if a specific value is not needed, you must include “NaN” in the blank field or the file will not upload properly.
7) The graph will automatically populate any changes / additions to the chemical information. If you make changes to the graph properties, hit “refresh” for them to take effect.
8) Once a list of chemicals has been input or uploaded, you can check or uncheck the check boxes on the left side of the list to hide certain chemicals and toggle between different scenarios. Each check box will display plot information for a chemical unless manually unchecked.
EXPORTING RESULTS
Click on the fourth tab on the left side of the screen, entitled “Results”. Four downloadable options are available to export results:
o Report (.html) provides a full summary of the problem formulation, graph, and the data
o Image file (.png) provides just the graphic image
o Chemicals Table (tab-delimited.txt) provides a table of the data used to generate the plot
o Chemicals Table (.csv) provides an Excel table of the data used to generate the plot
To save the plot only as an image, you can click within the plot, right click and select “Save Image” and save the plot as a PNG or JPEG image.
The RISK21 tool does NOT cache data or automatically store information. You must download the appropriate reports / files in order to keep a record of your work.