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SRP Posters for Schools See our website for more free to download resources.
www.srp-uk.org/public-and-schools/resources-for-schools Risks in Perspective - Poster 1

Risks to die for ...

What is a HAZARD?
A hazard is something nasty that can happen, and when it does it could hurt or kill
someone, for example a car crash or a lightning strike.
What is RISK?
Risk is the likelihood, or chance, that the hazard will actually happen.

For example:
A hungry lion is a big hazard.
But what is the chance that it will eat you?
If the lion is free it's highly likely - so big risk.
If the lion is locked in a cage, then the risk is small.
But there is still a small chance of the keeper forgetting to lock the Free lion Caged lion
cage door, or the lion breaking out, or the lion grabbing you Big hazard Big hazard
through the bars. Big risk Small risk

How are risks expressed?

Risk, or chance, can be expressed in many ways - normally as a number, called a 'risk factor', between 1 (certainty) and 0 (never happens).
To make it easier to understand, risks can be often expressed in MICROMORTS per activity or time.
1 micromort = 1 in a million probability (or chance) of death.
For example: the risk of a rock climber falling and dying is 1 in 25000 or 40 micromorts per hour of climbing.

Familiar Risks Number of ALL these activities have the same

micromorts risk of death = 1 micromort
Giving birth (averaged worldwide) 2100
Smoking 1½ cigarettes
An effective (whole body) radiation
dose of 20mSv (UK annual dose limit) 800 Eating 40 tablespoons of peanut butter
Radiation-induced fatal cancer from
having one CT scan of the abdomen 400 Travelling 7 miles by motorbike
An accident at home over 12 months 100
Eating 1000 bananas
Serving in Afghanistan for one day 47
Doing a skydive jump 10 Walking 27 miles

Drowning in the bath over a year 1.5 Travelling 230 miles in a car
Radiation-induced fatal cancer from
having one chest x-ray examination 1 Having one chest x-ray examination
Death by falling out of bed over a year 0.5
7500 miles travel by jet
Being struck by lightning in a 12 month period 0.2
Death from a nuclear power station accident Drinking 2 glasses of wine
in a 12 month period 0.1
Living for 15 years within 20 miles of a nuclear power station
Being killed in a plane crash 0.02
Thanks to Sir David Spiegelhalter OBE FRS, Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, University of Cambridge for assistance in preparing this poster

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