Written in response to a current gap in academic and industry based literature, this thesis was written on the topic of Trade Based Money Laundering (TBML) and risk assessment, within the banking context. Despite the increased use of TBML, most academic descriptions of money laundering have used the cash based model of placement and integration of large cash deposits acquired from criminal activity, which are then merged into legitimate pre-existing funds. However, there are a significant number of examples to show that cash transferred into goods and then shipped to other countries can be easier to move and less conspicuous or traceable than simple cash based deposits. One of the main challenges for detecting shipping based laundering techniques is that they involve a number of agencies sharing data and information, in order to catch the criminals. Simple banking checks may not always elicit the required information without verification from either customs or law enforcement agencies. The research sought to identify the current challenges and issues facing risk assessment professionals in the banking sector and to identify gaps in the current systems being used. The data collected included interviews and survey information taken from professionals working on AML risk assessment in banking and financial institutions from across the globe. In addition to the description of different money laundering schemes, much of the current academic discussion on money laundering in banking has focused on the regulation requirements for financial institutions to stop money laundering activity, but there has been little empirical guidance on how regulation can be adapted and implemented at the individual banking level. This research accessed a number of legal cases available in the public domain, which were analysed to see how and where some of the larger banks have failed to implement current anti-money laundering controls and to consider how this could impact on the detection of TBML activity. This research uses an Agency theory model to look at the pressures banks are under to manage client’s accounts efficiently, versus the requirements of outside regulation to undertake extensive checks on business transactions and accounts. Finally, the researcher proposed a simple risk matrix approach that developed the current thinking of client behaviour and transaction monitoring risk analysis associated with cash based laundering, to develop a four-point risk model that added geography and third party behaviour, to account for shipping and trade based laundering activity.

In 1990, the Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments authorized the regulation of 188 hazardous air pollutants (HAP). Exposure to HAPs at sufficient concentrations and durations can increase both cancer and serious adverse non-carcinogenic effects. The purpose of this study was to conduct a human health risk assessment using data of 43 HAPs from five monitor sites in Portland, Oregon during July 1999-August 2000. HAP concentrations were compared to carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic (health) benchmark concentrations; and emission sources were determined for HAPs that exceeded health benchmark concentrations. Additionally, cancer risks were determined for subpopulations and compared to cancer risks generated for the general population. Results of this study indicate that 20 HAPs exceeded carcinogenic benchmark concentrations (corresponding to a risk level of 1 x 10������) in at least one location. Chromium compounds posed the highest cancer risk (3.5 x 10������). Seventeen HAPs exceeded carcinogenic benchmark concentrations at all five sites. Seventy-five percent (%) of the total cumulative cancer risk was contributed by chromium compounds, 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane. Three HAPs, chromium compounds, acrolein, and formaldehyde, exceeded non-carcinogenic hazard ratios of 1.0. Releases from area sources accounted for the largest percentage of HAPs that exceeded health benchmark concentrations. With respect to subpopulations, asthmatics teenagers (age 11-16) and asthmatic adults (age 18-50), had slightly elevated cancer risks of 1.4 x 10������ and 1.2 x 10������. respectively, compared to the general population risk level of 1 x 10������. Results of this study indicate that several HAPs pose a potential human health concern in Portland and that efforts should be made to reduce their emissions. Additional studies are warranted to further assess potential human health risks and the extent of HAPs in Portland, Oregon. / Graduation date: 2003

Quantitative soil ingestion studies employing a mass balance tracer approach have been used to determine soil ingestion rate for use in human health risk assessments (HHRAs). Past studies have focused on soil ingestion in populations living in urban/suburban environments and the results have been highly variable. Moreover, there is a paucity of reliable quantitative soil ingestion data to support human health risk assessments of other lifestyles that may be predisposed to ingesting soil, such as indigenous populations following traditional lifestyles. Thus, the primary objective of the research was to determine if populations following lifestyles typical of traditional land use practices in rural or wilderness areas ingest more soil than populations living in urban or suburban environments. Further, the research investigated the use of alternative mass balance tracers, specifically isotopes of the 238U and 232Th decay series, to reduce soil ingestion estimate variability. Mass balance tracer methods were developed and validated in a pilot canine study, and methods using isotope tracers were adapted to permit quantification of sediment ingestion in the benthic fish Moxostoma macrolepidotum (Shorthead Redhorse Sucker). A pilot human soil ingestion study of 7 subjects from an Aboriginal community in British Columbia was conducted over a 3-week period. The mean soil ingestion rate calculated using the daily means of the 4 elemental tracers with the lowest food-to-soil ratios (i.e., Al, Ce, La, Si) was observed to be approximately 74 mg d-1 (standard deviation 91 mg d-1), The median soil ingestion rate was 60 mg d-1, and the 90th percentile was 196 mg d-1. These soil ingestion rate estimates are higher than those currently recommended for HHRAs of adults, and higher than those obtained in most previous studies of adults. However, the estimates are much lower than the earlier qualitative assessments for subsistence lifestyles (i.e., 330-400 mg d-1). The study results also demonstrated that isotopes of the 238U and 232Th decay series radionuclide are not reliable mass balance tracers for estimating soil ingestion in humans; however, they may be useful for quantifying soil and sediment ingestion in wildlife.

Health risk assessment tools compute an individual’s risk of developing a disease. They are potentially useful in chronic disease prevention mediated by family physicians. We sought to learn family physicians’ awareness, and perspectives on the usefulness, usability and feasibility of implementation of risk assessment tools. Focus groups, discussion with key informants, and usability testing with an EMR-embedded risk assessment tool were conducted with family physicians (n=30) from academic and community-based practices. Analysis following grounded theory methodology was used to generate categories and themes. Our findings indicate that participants are aware of the implications of risk assessment calculations though very few tools are used regularly. Tool integration with EMR systems was felt to be essential in assisting tool usability, uptake and efficiency of use. Results provide insight into current risk assessment tool use and the facilitation of wider implementation of risk assessment tools in family practice settings.

Health risk assessment tools compute an individual’s risk of developing a disease. They are potentially useful in chronic disease prevention mediated by family physicians. We sought to learn family physicians’ awareness, and perspectives on the usefulness, usability and feasibility of implementation of risk assessment tools. Focus groups, discussion with key informants, and usability testing with an EMR-embedded risk assessment tool were conducted with family physicians (n=30) from academic and community-based practices. Analysis following grounded theory methodology was used to generate categories and themes. Our findings indicate that participants are aware of the implications of risk assessment calculations though very few tools are used regularly. Tool integration with EMR systems was felt to be essential in assisting tool usability, uptake and efficiency of use. Results provide insight into current risk assessment tool use and the facilitation of wider implementation of risk assessment tools in family practice settings.

Quantitative soil ingestion studies employing a mass balance tracer approach have been used to determine soil ingestion rate for use in human health risk assessments (HHRAs). Past studies have focused on soil ingestion in populations living in urban/suburban environments and the results have been highly variable. Moreover, there is a paucity of reliable quantitative soil ingestion data to support human health risk assessments of other lifestyles that may be predisposed to ingesting soil, such as indigenous populations following traditional lifestyles. Thus, the primary objective of the research was to determine if populations following lifestyles typical of traditional land use practices in rural or wilderness areas ingest more soil than populations living in urban or suburban environments. Further, the research investigated the use of alternative mass balance tracers, specifically isotopes of the 238U and 232Th decay series, to reduce soil ingestion estimate variability. Mass balance tracer methods were developed and validated in a pilot canine study, and methods using isotope tracers were adapted to permit quantification of sediment ingestion in the benthic fish Moxostoma macrolepidotum (Shorthead Redhorse Sucker). A pilot human soil ingestion study of 7 subjects from an Aboriginal community in British Columbia was conducted over a 3-week period. The mean soil ingestion rate calculated using the daily means of the 4 elemental tracers with the lowest food-to-soil ratios (i.e., Al, Ce, La, Si) was observed to be approximately 74 mg d-1 (standard deviation 91 mg d-1), The median soil ingestion rate was 60 mg d-1, and the 90th percentile was 196 mg d-1. These soil ingestion rate estimates are higher than those currently recommended for HHRAs of adults, and higher than those obtained in most previous studies of adults. However, the estimates are much lower than the earlier qualitative assessments for subsistence lifestyles (i.e., 330-400 mg d-1). The study results also demonstrated that isotopes of the 238U and 232Th decay series radionuclide are not reliable mass balance tracers for estimating soil ingestion in humans; however, they may be useful for quantifying soil and sediment ingestion in wildlife.

Risk mitigation decisions for civil infrastructure exposed to rare natural and manmade hazards are often impacted by risk aversion, a behavioral phenomenon in which the decision maker's perception and judgment of risk are systematically distorted, resulting in decisions that might be viewed as excessively conservative when compared to those from a traditional minimum expected cost analysis. This study addresses how decisions regarding structural safety are affected by the attitudes of the decision-maker toward risk using decision models, such as cumulative prospect theory, that allow risk-averse behaviors to be modeled quantitatively. Perspectives on the general characteristics of risk-aversion are first drawn from risk pricing techniques in the insurance industry. These perspectives are then refined for structural engineering applications by investigations of decisions involving seismic retrofit of unreinforced masonry structures in San Francisco, CA and aseismic design of a steel moment frame in Vancouver, BC. Risk attitudes when confronting extreme wind hazards are also assessed using a decision by the North and South Carolina Code Councils to waive a provision in the International Residential Code that would have required additional windborne debris protection in residential construction. An examination of risk attitudes toward competing natural hazards is then introduced by comparing decisions related to wind and seismic effects in areas where both hazards may be significant. These investigations have led to tentative conclusions regarding the role of risk aversion in the assurance of structural safety and in code-related decisions and suggest avenues for future study.

published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

The following thesis presents the results of a two year study that addressed lay perceptions of the risks to the water resources of the Lower Fraser Basin, British Columbia. Studies of this nature are important because by clarifying public perceptions, risk communication policies as well as land and water resource use plans that accommodate people's concerns can be developed appropriately. The study was based on a written survey that was administered to 183 lay subjects in four communities within the Lower Fraser Basin. Sixteen experts participated in a portion of the survey. Analysis involved the determination of how people perceive distinct human activities in terms of the risk each may pose to the health of aquatic ecosystems. Further analysis compared these perceptions to those of specialists in the aquatic sciences. The thesis is structured as a collection of three papers that examine different aspects of the study. The First paper provides a review of the overall data set, while the remaining two papers address related subsets of the data. One paper reviews perceptions of activities that cause eutrophication problems and the other reviews perceptions of forest industry activities. The results demonstrated that people tend to view risks to water environments in a multi-faceted fashion. Four factors were found to influence people's general perception of risk and the need for regulation of the activities that were perceived to pose the risk. These factors were termed Ecological Impact, Human Benefit, Controllability and Knowledge. Another significant result was the fact that there were often striking differences between the views of the lay sample and those of the expert sample. Some activities were perceived by the lay sample as posing substantial risk while the experts did not view this to be the case. Alternatively, for some activities, the reverse scenario occurred. Accordingly, there were differences in judgements between the two groups as to the degree of regulation that should be imposed on the respective activities.

No description available.