Risk Assessment
Contents
Definitions
European Definitions
Overall process of [1]:
- hazard identification (identification of a risk source capable of causing adverse effects to humans or the environment),
- hazard characterization (quantitative evaluation of the nature of the adverse health effects associated with the hazard),
- exposure assessment (evaluation of the likely exposure of man and/or the environment to risk sources) and
- risk characterisation (estimation, including attendant uncertainties, of the probability of occurrence and severity of known or potential adverse health effects in a given population).
Other International Definitions
UNISDR
A methodology to determine the nature and extent of risk by analysing potential hazards and evaluating existing conditions of vulnerability that together could potentially harm exposed people, property, services, livelihoods and the environment on which they depend [2].
According to UNISDR, risk assessments (and associated risk mapping) include:
- a review of the technical characteristics of hazards such as their location,intensity, frequency and probability;
- the analysis of exposure and vulnerability including the physical social, health, economic and environmental dimensions;
- and the evaluation of the effectiveness of prevailing and alternative coping capacities in respect to likely risk scenarios.
This series of activities is sometimes known as a risk analysis process.
National Definitions
Standard Definition
ISO/IEC 27000:2014
The standard defines risk assessment as
the "overall process of risk identification, risk analysis and risk evaluation[3](based on the ISO Guide 73:2009[4]).