TABLE OF CONTENTS Although conceptually distinct, risk assessment and risk management are often impossible to separate in practice. Risk assessment is essentially a preliminary to setting up proper risk management procedures. Confirmation of the effectiveness of risk management procedures requires reassessment of the risks after implementation of management procedures. Principles and procedures for risk assessment will be discussed in this chapter and principles of risk management in the next, but, in practice, the two chapters need to be read together.
A recent publication by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2003) gives up-to-date definitions of risk, risk assessment and risk management.
Risk. The probability of an adverse effect in an organism, system or (sub) population caused under specified circumstances by exposure to an agent.
Risk assessment. A process intended to calculate or estimate the risk to a given target organism, system or (sub) population, including the identification of attendant uncertainties, following exposure to a particular agent, taking into account the inherent characteristics of the agent of concern as well as the characteristics of the specific target system.
The risk assessment process includes four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterisation (related term: dose-response assessment), exposure assessment and risk characterisation. It is the first component of a risk analysis process.
Risk management. Decision making process involving consideration of political, social, economic and technical factors with relevant risk assessment information relating to hazard so as to develop, analyse and compare regulatory and non-regulatory options...
