IS COMPARATIVE RISK ANALYSIS QUANTITATIVE OR QUALITATIVE?
Comparative risk analysis can be quantitative, qualitative or both. Typically, initial analyses are more quantitative, relying upon Technical Committees to inform another committee about the quantitative risk associated with selected issue areas. However, the final rankings are invariably qualitative. Final rankings are often constructed by committees comprised of both technical and nontechnical staff. Judgements about the priority assigned to a problem reflect a variety of qualitative factors, such as the degree of public concern, the balance between costs and benefits, etc. Final rankings are usually categorical (high, medium, or low) and by definition involve qualitative judgments about the relative importance of different problems. WHAT ISSUES ARE EVALUATED AND HOW ARE THEY CHOSEN? The issues covered by comparative risk projects vary depending on the geographic area being assessed and the interests of participating stakeholders. US EPA regional ranking projects generally shared a c
