Risk Risk is the chance or probability that a person will be harmed or experience an adverse health effect if exposed to a hazard. It may also apply to situations with property or equipment loss. Risk: the probability of suffering injury, disease, death, or some loss as a result of exposure to a hazard Risks are expressed as a probability or likelihood of developing a disease or getting injured, whereas hazards refer to the possible consequencesRisk.... Factors that influence the degree of risk include: * how much a person is exposed to a hazardous thing or condition, * how the person is exposed (e.g., breathing in a vapour, skin contact), and * how severe are the effects under the conditions of exposure. * a measure of threat to humans (typically) posed by a hazard Hazard x Exposure x Vulnerability Risk= Capacity or ResilienceRisk.... Probability- a quantitative description of the likelihood of a certain outcome Vulnerability- a measure of the inability of individuals or groups to cope with a hazard/disaster Resiliency- a measure of the ability to recover from stressful (hazard) experience capacity to absorb and “return to normal” Harmful outcome could be defined as injury, death, environmental damage, economic loss, etc. Acceptable risk is a risk that has been reduced to a level that can be tolerated by the organization having regard to its legal obligations and its own OSH policy.Risk Assessment * Risk assessment is the process of evaluation of the risks arising from a hazard, taking into account the adequacy of any existing controls and deciding whether or not the risks is acceptable * Risk assessment is the process or method to risk analysis (identify, characterize) and evaluate the likelihood and severity of adverse effects on workers’ health and to put different risks into priority order.Risk Analysis The risk analysis activities involve: * Identification of hazards present in the workplace and work environment; * Identification of hazards discovered in previous risk management; * Identification of potential consequences of the recognized hazards — risks, i.e. the potential causes of injury to workers, a work accident, an occupational disease or a work related disease.What is a Risk Assessment? A logical, objective and quantitative approach to analyzing and interpreting data with the purpose of predicting potential adverse effects. A formal way to calculate risk so that informed decisions can be made. Measuring risk is scientific. Judging the acceptability of risk is a value judgment. Several methods to perform risk assessment are available ranging from expert to participatory methodologies and from simple to complex methods.What is a Risk Assessment? * Risk assessment involves evaluating, ranking, and classifying risks. * Risk assessment Includes: identification of hazards, analysis, evaluation of the risk associated with that hazard, and determine appropriate ways to control, and avoidance, minimization, or elimination of unacceptable risks.Four Steps to Risk Assessment Hazard Identification Dose-Response Assessment Exposure Assessment Risk Characterization@ hazard identification Does exposure to substance cause increased likelihood of | 7 adverse health effect such as cancer or birth defects? Risk Assessment... © Exposure assessment How much, how often, and how long are humans exposed to substance in question? Where humans live relative to emissions is also considered. © Dose-response assess- ment What is the relationship between amount of exposure (dose) and seriousness of adverse health effect? A person exposed to a low dose may have no symptoms, whereas exposure to a high dose may result inillness. © Risk characterization What is probability of jividual or population having adverse health effect? Risk characterization evaluates data from dose-reponse assessment and exposure assessment (steps 2 and 3). Risk characterization indicates that Mexican-Americans, many of whom are agricul- tural workers, are more vulnerable to pesticide exposure than other groups (see graph).Why Risk Assessment is Performed Reasons for Performing Risk assessment: Identifying sources of risks Assessing the severity and extent of adverse effects Identifying workers at risk Creating awareness about risks Under taking measures against the risk Targeting preventive, management and control measures Putting various risks into perspective and priority ranking If the conditions of work are substantially changed, e.g. new machinery, technology, substances or working methods are introduced.