Integrated Assessment Briefs

This is a brief description of studies that exemplify the methods and approaches that have been developed and used by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) researchers in conducting integrated assessments. See the complete list of Integrated Assessment Briefs to find out more about ORNL's efforts in integrated assessment. Contact Mike Farrell (farrellmp@ornl.gov) for more information.

Introduction

Integrated assessment is a process that can be used to evaluate and clarify resource management policy options and outcomes for decision makers. The defining characteristics of integrated assessment are (1) its focus on providing information and analysis that can be understood and used by decision makers rather than for merely advancing understanding and (2) its multidisciplinary approach, using methods, styles of study, and considerations from a broader variety of technical areas than would typically characterize studies produced from a single disciplinary standpoint.

Integrated assessment may combine scientific, social, economic, health, and environmental data and models. By its nature, integrated assessment requires bridging the gap between science and policy considerations. Because not everything can be valued using a single metric, such as a dollar value, the integrated assessment process also involves evaluating trade-offs among dissimilar attributes.

Although the term "integrated assessment" is a relatively new one, the approach embodied in the term is not new. Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recognized the importance and value of multidisciplinary approaches to solving environmental problems early on and have pioneered the development of tools and methods for integrated assessment over the past three decades. Their extensive experience in environmental impact assessment and in the development of ecological and regional-scale risk analysis, regional and global-scale modeling, uncertainty analysis, and radiological hazard assessment have brought together scientific, engineering, economic, and social science expertise, making ORNL unique among research institutions.

Major examples of ORNL's experience in the development of its capabilities for integrated assessment include the following:

ORNL's extensive experience with evaluating the impacts of energy and defense technologies and facilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has produced major advances in assessment science.
ORNL helped integrate research results into assessment and policy for the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) over the course of the program's 10-year history. ORNL also led the development by a team of national laboratory scientists of methods for integration of site-specific results into regional and national-scale assessments. Ongoing efforts with NAPAP II will help ensure that its scientific results have policy relevance.
ORNL recently completed a fuel cycle externalities study conducted jointly with the Commission of the European Communities to quantify the social costs and benefits not reflected in the price of energy products from different fuel sources.
ORNL is currently supporting the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program. Their goal is to monitor and assess the condition of the nation's ecological resources, for which ORNL is playing a role in scientific method development.

These and other studies described in this volume of Integrated Assessment Briefs exemplify many of the methods and approaches developed by ORNL researchers for integrated assessment. To facilitate its use, the document is organized into sections summarizing key projects typifying ORNL's diverse research interests. The eight cross-cutting sections are: Energy Technologies, Global Change Studies, International Studies, Regional Scale Studies, Renewable Resources, Risk Assessments, Theory and Methods, and Waste Management Technologies.

Each brief poses a research question and summarizes the findings of the research, giving references and contact names for readers who wish to obtain further information. Should you wish to acquire publications or other information mentioned in Integrated Assessment Briefs, please contact Virginia H. Dale, Associate Director, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Building 1505, MS-6035, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831-6035. Telephone: (423) 576-8043; fax: (423) 574-7287.

David E. Reichle
Associate Director
Life Sciences and Environmental Technologies
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Where To?

[ Table of Contents for ORNL Integrated Assessment Briefs ]

Integrated Assessment Briefs. 1995. ORNL/M-4227. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN.