Decision-making concerning safety activities

Indicators as Part of Decision-making Concerning Safety Activities... 

When used judiciously, the advantages of QRA can outweigh the associated problems and costs. Companies that prudently commission QRAs and conscientiously act on the resulting recommendations are better off for two reasons (1) they have a better base of information to make decisions and (2) their judicious use of QRA technology represents another demonstration of responsible concern for the health and safety of workers and the public. However, companies should resist the indiscriminate use of QRA as a means to solve all problems since this strategy could waste safety improvement resources, diverting attention from other essential safety activities. Once executives are able to interpret and use QRA results, they will appreciate that the quality of their decisions rests largely on their ability to understand the salient analysis assumptions and the limitations of the results. 

The scientific considerations underlying the IAEA safety standards provide an objective basis for decisions concerning safety however, decision makers must also make informed judgements and must determine how best to balance the benefits of an action or an activity against the associated radiation risks and any other detrimental impacts to which it gives rise. 

Recent terrorist attacks on October 12, 2002, in Bali, Indonesia, showed that the homemade and industrial explosive bombs present a serious threat to the world community. These terrorist activities generated enormous demand for rapid identification of nitroaromatic explosives at the site of terrorism. The decentralized detection of explosives at low concentrations is fundamental for safety of civilized people. The ideal counter-terrorism detection device should allow the security forces to make the important decision concerning evacuating, barricading, effective decontamination of particular site or efficient pursuing of suspects. 

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