A hazard is a situation that poses a level of threat to life Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes (biology) from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased (death), or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate, health At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization , in 1948, health was defined as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity", property Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of persons. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property has the right to consume, sell, rent, mortgage, transfer, exchange or destroy their property, and/or to exclude others from doing these things. Important widely recognized types of, or environment The natural environment, commonly referred to simply as the environment, encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof.[citation needed]. Most hazards are dormant or potential, with only a theoretical risk Risk concerns the deviation of one or more results of one or more future events from their expected value. Technically, the value of those results may be positive or negative. However, general usage tends to focus only on potential harm that may arise from a future event, which may accrue either from incurring a cost or by failing to attain some of harm; however, once a hazard becomes "active", it can create an emergency An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or environment. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible and agencies may only be able to offer palliative care for the aftermath situation. A hazard does not exist when it is happening. A hazardous situation that has come to pass is called an incident. Hazard and vulnerability Vulnerability is the susceptibility to physical or emotional injury or attack. It also means to have one's guard down, open to censure or criticism. Vulnerability refers to a person's state of being liable to succumb, as to manipulation, persuasion or temptation interact together to create risk Risk concerns the deviation of one or more results of one or more future events from their expected value. Technically, the value of those results may be positive or negative. However, general usage tends to focus only on potential harm that may arise from a future event, which may accrue either from incurring a cost or by failing to attain some.

Contents

Modes of a hazard

Wreck on rocks off Orchard Beach, The Bronx during the winter of 2007.

Hazards are sometimes classified into three modes:[1]

Classifying hazards

By its nature, a hazard involves something that could potentially be harmful to a person's life, health, property, or the environment. One key concept in identifying a hazard is the presence of stored energy that, when released, can cause damage. Stored energy can occur in many forms: chemical, mechanical, thermal, radioactive, electrical, etc. Another class of hazard does not involve release of stored energy, rather it involves the presence of hazardous situations. Examples include confined or limited egress spaces, oxygen-depleted atmospheres, awkward positions, repetitive motions, low-hanging or protruding objects, etc.

There are several methods of classifying a hazard, but most systems use some variation on the factors of "likelihood" of the hazard turning into an incident and the "seriousness" of the incident if it were to occur. (This discussion moved away from hazard to a discussion of risk.)

A common method is to score both likelihood and seriousness on a numerical scale (with the most likely and most serious scoring highest) and multiplying one by the other in order to reach a comparative score.

Risk = Likelihood of Occurrence x Seriousness if incident occurred

This score can then be used to identify which hazards may need to be mitigated. A low score on likelihood of occurrence may mean that the hazard is dormant, whereas a high score would indicate that it may be an "active" hazard.

An important component of "seriousness if incident occurred" is "serious to whom?" Different populations may be affected differently by accidents. For example, an explosion will have widely differing effects on different populations depending on the distance from the explosion. These effects can range from death from overpressure or shrapnel to inhalation of noxious gases (for people downwind) to being exposed to a loud noise.

Causes of hazards

There are many causes, but they can broadly be classified as below. See the linked articles for comprehensive lists of each type of hazard.

References

  1. ^ David MacCollum (December 18, 2006). Construction Safety Engineering Principles: Designing and Managing Safer Job Sites. McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering (SBN) code created by Gordon Foster, now Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin, for the booksellers and stationers W.H. Smith and others in 1966 978-0071482448. http://books.google.com/books?id=IbLrmejZ2UMC&lpg=PA10&ots=yg21-Hs3XK&dq=hazard%20mode%20active%20dormant&pg=PA8#v=onepage&q=hazard%20mode%20active%20dormant&f=false. Retrieved 2010-07-10.

Categories: Emergency management This category is for general articles and categories about the theory and management of disasters and emergencies. For articles and categories about individual disasters, see Category:Disasters, for articles and categories about the phenomena causing disasters, see Category:Hazards | Safety Categories: Prevention | Security | Risk | Risk Categories: Core issues in ethics | Security | Information, knowledge, and uncertainty | Applied probability

 

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