Comparative Risk Assessment (CRA)
RPS experts integrate the quantitative power of 3D oil fate and effects modeling in SIMAP with ecological risk assessment techniques to perform CRAs for evaluating response options. This approach couples modeling with information on resource populations and their expected behavior to calculate (and compare) the fractions of populations potentially exposed and their recovery potential.
Two fully developed CRAs are provided with links to view and interact with the results. The CRA approach is adaptable to other oil types, regions, spill scenarios, and response activities, and its complexity can be scaled to the detail of ecological data or relative density indices used as inputs.
Hilary Robinson Dr. Deborah French McCay
CRA for a Hypothetical Gulf of Mexico Blowout
First application of the CRA tool assessing benefits and trade-offs associated with various oil spill response options, and specifically Subsea Dispersant Injection.
Deepwater Horizon – Counter-historical CRA of Dispersants
Targeted application of the CRA tool comparing potential risks had dispersants not been used or been used more aggressively during the Deepwater Horizon spill of 2010.
Explore Our Publications
CRA Development for a Hypothetical Deepwater Blowout (three-part series in Marine Pollution Bulletin)
Development and validation of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill model used as foundation for the CRA (three-part, open access series in Frontiers and Marine Science and Marine Pollution Bulletin)
“A CRA seeks to compare the benefits and consequences (effects/impacts on biota) of various response options. In many ways, it can be considered an evolutionary step of NEBA, one which takes advantage of recent advances in biological modeling technology to remove some of the subjectivity out of preceding frameworks.”
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The Use of Dispersants in Marine Oil Spill Response. 2020