PRINCIPLES OF RISK ASSESSMENT

As discussed in Chapter 1, the iegai argument for managing fire and heaith and safety is oniy one of the 

The same can be said for risk assessment, in so far as while assessments are required by law, the moral argument for reducing personal injuries and incidents of ill health by the use of risk control measures should also not be overlooked. The financial and economical 

The risk assessment process will vary depending upon an organisation s activities. It may be that the assessment will be a highly technical and complex scientific analysis, such as in the case of COMAH site activities (a site defined under the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999). At the other end of the scale, the assessment may simply be a fairly succinct analysis of the hazards, risks and control measures relating to the work activities conducted in a small office environment. 

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Chemical contaminants are usually not reduced or removed by processing steps. Chemical risks must preferably be controlled as early as possible in the agri-food chain. Food color additives (Section 7.1.3) are chemical compounds and are considered potential risks. Therefore a safety evaluation is part of the approval of a food colorant before its use is acknowledged by legislation (see also Section 7.1.6). This section explains the principles of risk assessment and includes an example of such an assessment of a specific food colorant. 

Figure 4. General principle of risk assessment for new substances, existing substances and biocides...

The 7th amendment (EEC 1992) essentially required that the principles of risk assessment for new substances be laid down (Section 2.4.1.5). 

Riley D (Ed). 1993. Principles of risk assessment. Wageningen (The Netherlands) Winand Staring Centre for Integrated Land, Soil and Water Research. 

REPROTOX is useful clinically. It provides succinct, authoritative overviews of the reproductive and developmental toxicity of a large number of chemical exposures, including many important occupational exposures. The system is designed for use by health professionals who are familiar with the general principles of risk assessment and is intended to assist in the counseling of individual patients. 

D. Benford, Principles of Risk Assessment of Food and Drinking Water related to Human Health, Washington, DC, ILSI Press, 2001. 

Being able to predict the human health risk from exposure to airborne chemicals can be complex, requiring reliable analysis of human exposure. While the basic principles of risk assessment are applicable to various conditions of exposure, characterizing how an individual s health status can significantly influence the threshold for effects can be a most challenging component of the risk assessment process. One needs to consider the overall scientific weight-of-evidence to predict whether or not an individual may be uniquely susceptible to certain... 

The statutory guidance describes how, in general terms, the assessment of land under the new regime should be based on the principles of risk assessment. These principles have been applied in areas such as chemical safety testing for many years and they include a recognition that risk is a function of hazard and exposure. In simple terms, this means that the mere presence of a hazardous substance on a site is not indicative of a need for clean-up. Instead, it is a trigger for further examination of the likelihood of harm occurring, or that such harm has already occurred, prior to a decision on whether or not clean-up is warranted. 

Principles of Risk Assessment and Risk Management for Chemicals... 

At present, there is an absence of generally accepted principles of risk assessment for microbial products, especially when their use involves direct release into the environment. For this reason, and... 

Application of the principles of risk assessment will be important in the successful implementation of REACH, particularly during its authorization phase. Exposure factors such as whether industrial workers or consumers are exposed, and what production volumes are anticipated, should be taken into account along with a determination of the potential for unintended but catastrophic releases such as in the Bhopal incident. Other factors, including economic effect and whether a suitable replacement for the chemical exists, should be considered before reaching a decision that a substance must be completely banned. 

As previously mentioned, to meet Health and Safety requirements class teachers must understand and apply the principles of risk assessment and follow regular and approved practice. If pupils are to become responsible, safety conscious adults, they too need to learn how to assess and control risks. This is an essential requirement of the National Curriculum Science Orders (DFE, 1995) that require teachers to promote in pupils a sense of personal responsibility for health and safety in the context of science (see Figure 7.1). Furthermore, changes to teacher training courses (DFE Circular, 14/93) mean that schools now assume greater responsibility for the training of prospective teachers and therefore need to ensure that... 

International Standard ISO 14121 titled Safety of machinery — Principles of risk assessment, 1999. ... 

This checklist is an adaptation of information that appears in the ISO s Safety of Maehinery—Principles of Risk Assessment, Standard, IS014121. The checklist is a guide for companies located throughout the world who design and manufacture machinery and equipment that would go into European workplaces. Although the checklist pertains to a broad range of equipment, those who use it as a reference must understand that it could not possibly include all hazards and all hazardous situations. 

The checklist in Addendum B at the conclusion of Chapter 8 is adapted from ISO 14121, the Safety of Machinery—Principles of Risk Assessment Standard. It is to serve as a guide for those who design and manufacture equipment and machinery that goes into European workplaces. 

The principles of risk assessments should also be followed when developing requirements. REACH seems to decentralise the resources, which leaves too little resources for controlling real risks. Issues representing low risk levels can demand an unreasonable amount of the resources. Surveys and assessments are made in a very burdening way. (Employer representative)... 

Increased reliance is being made of the existing risk assessment documents and the resulting standards that have been developed. Thus, future risk assessment for PCB s, PCDD s, and PCDF s likely be on hold until further toxicological evidence is developed. Advances in such risk assessment methods will likely be done as a result of the critiques of the existing risk assessment. The same principles of risk assessment and exposure assessment are being routinely used to evaluate individuates risk following incidental exposure. 

EN 1050 (Principles of Risk Assessment), in 1996, covered the processes involved in risk assessment but gave little advice on risk reduction. For machinery control EN 954-1... 

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