Health risk[edit]

Health risks arise from disease and other biological hazards.

Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution, patterns and determinants of health and
disease. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions by identifying risk factors
for disease and targets for preventive healthcare.
In the context of public health, risk assessment is the process of characterizing the nature and
likelihood of a harmful effect to individuals or populations from certain human activities. Health risk
assessment can be mostly qualitative or can include statistical estimates of probabilities for specific
populations.
A health risk assessment (also referred to as a health risk appraisal and health & well-being
assessment) is a questionnaire screening tool, used to provide individuals with an evaluation of their
health risks and quality of life

Health, safety, and environment risks[edit]

Health, safety, and environment (HSE) are separate practice areas; however, they are often linked.
The reason is typically to do with organizational management structures; however, there are strong
links among these disciplines. One of the strongest links is that a single risk event may have impacts
in all three areas, albeit over differing timescales. For example, the uncontrolled release of radiation
or a toxic chemical may have immediate short-term safety consequences, more protracted health
impacts, and much longer-term environmental impacts. Events such as Chernobyl, for example,
caused immediate deaths, and in the longer term, deaths from cancers, and left a lasting
environmental impact leading to birth defects, impacts on wildlife, etc.

Information technology risk[edit]

Main articles: IT risk, Computer security, IT risk management, and Information security
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to store, retrieve, transmit, and manipulate
data. IT risk (or cyber risk) arises from the potential that a threat may exploit a vulnerability to breach
security and cause harm. IT risk management applies risk management methods to IT to manage IT
risks. Computer security is the protection of IT systems by managing IT risks.
Information security is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. While IT
risk is narrowly focused on computer security, information risks extend to other forms of information
(paper, microfilm).

Insurance risk[edit]
Insurance is a risk treatment option which involves risk sharing. It can be considered as a form of
contingent capital and is akin to purchasing an option in which the buyer pays a small premium to be
protected from a potential large loss.
Insurance risk is often taken by insurance companies, who then bear a pool of risks including market
risk, credit risk, operational risk, interest rate risk, mortality risk, longevity risks, etc. [31]
The term “risk” has a long history in insurance and has acquired several specialised definitions,
including “the subject-matter of an insurance contract”, “an insured peril” as well as the more
common “possibility of an event occurring which causes injury or loss”.[32]

Occupational risk[edit]
Main article: Occupational safety and health
Occupational health and safety is concerned with occupational hazards experienced in the
workplace.
The Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) standard OHSAS 18001 in 1999
defined risk as the “combination of the likelihood and consequence(s) of a specified hazardous event
occurring”. In 2018 this was replaced by ISO 45001 “Occupational health and safety management
systems”, which use the ISO Guide 73 definition.

Project risk[edit]
A project is an individual or collaborative undertaking planned to achieve a specific aim. Project risk
is defined as, "an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on a
project’s objectives”. Project risk management aims to increase the likelihood and impact of positive
events and decrease the likelihood and impact of negative events in the project. [33]

Safety risk[edit]
Safety is concerned with a variety of hazards that may result in accidents causing harm to people,
property and the environment. In the safety field, risk is typically defined as the “likelihood and
severity of hazardous events”. Safety risks are controlled using techniques of risk management.
A high reliability organisation (HRO) involves complex operations in environments where
catastrophic accidents could occur. Examples include aircraft carriers, air traffic control, aerospace
and nuclear power stations. Some HROs manage risk in a highly quantified way. The technique is
usually referred to as probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). See WASH-1400 for an example of this
approach. The incidence rate can also be reduced due to the provision of better occupational health
and safety programmes [34]