GENERAL

EDUCATION
OF WORKERS
Risk - Damage - Danger

DANGER AND RISK ARE DIFFERENT!

WHAT IS DAMAGE?
WHAT IS DANGER?
WHAT IS RISK?
…and chance occurrence? …does that exist?
THE CALCULATION OF PROBABILITY
THE CALCULATION OF RISK

DANGER AND RISK ARE DIFFERENT!
Many think they know exactly what the terms “danger”, “damage” and “risk”
mean, but these concepts are often confused ...
What is risk?
What is danger?
It is enough to ask any person to define danger, damage and risk to discover
that these concepts are not always as intuitive as they seem. The answers
given follow one after the other, inserting one word in the definition of the
other and vice versa.
In conclusion, not everyone knows how to put damage in the right rela-
tionship with risk and with danger. Let’s try to clarify the problem with two
examples.
If you have to cut an apple, you take a knife and start cutting.
If a child has to cut the apple, every mother would say “be careful not to cut
yourself!”.
In fact, the source of the danger is immediately identified as the knife. First of
all, therefore, we try to avert the danger.
• We use a cutting board to give stability to the fruit.
• Or, we use a knife to cut the apple and a peeler to remove the peel.
Certainly the danger of cutting oneself is always present, even if the damage
is generally minor.
If we think about how many apples are being cut around the world, we per-
ceive how the probability of being cut is quite high.
In this case:
• the danger is represented by the knife;
• the damage is given by the possibility of getting a cut. This can be more or
less slight;
• the risk is given by the probability of cutting oneself (in this case it is quite
high) multiplied by the extent of the damage (in this case slight).
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INDEX
In this example, even if the probability of the negative event is quite high, the
risk is low!
Let us now take a nuclear power plant as an example. The danger in the event
of an accident in a nuclear power plant can cause enormous damage (for
example, leakage of radioactive substances). However, the probability of such
an event occurring is very low.
In this case:
• the danger is represented by radioactive substances that can be released
and cause damage;
• the damage, unlike a cut from an apple, is enormous;
• the risk is given by the probability of the release of radioactive substances
(which in this case is low) by the extent of the damage (which, on the other
hand, is enormous).
In this second example, even if the probability of the negative event is very low,
the risk is obviously enormous!
A risk assessment that can affect the whole world!
In the construction of a nuclear power plant, the risk due to the probability of
an accident multiplied by the extent of the damage must be assessed.
The classification of the risk in this case is high.
Let’s take stock of some aspects. Let’s start by clarifying that danger and risk
have different meanings, but in any case they are connected in some way.
The connection is made by means of the word damage.
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WHAT IS DAMAGE?
We can define damage as a negative consequence resulting from the occur-
rence of an event. For instance:
• the presence of a flammable substance can cause burn damage;
• noisy equipment can cause hearing damage;
• a suspended load can cause damage if the load attachment system bre-
aks.
It has a negative connotation because it is associated with a physical injury or
a reduction in a person’s health.
WHAT IS DANGER?
Danger, physical or natural, is a characteristic of a certain factor that can
cause damage.
The danger therefore represents a source of potential damage. It can also
manifest itself unexpectedly such as in the case of an explosion or mechanical
breakdown. A dangerous situation is defined as a circumstance in which a
person is exposed to at least one danger.
A “dangerous area” is defined as the space where a worker exposed to a
danger operates. (e.g. lathe machining).
WHAT IS RISK?
We have seen what risk perception is, but what are the characteristics of the
risk?
Risk is defined as the potential for a danger to cause damage.
The law defines “risk” as the probability of reaching the potential level of da-
mage in the conditions of employment or exposure to a given factor or agent
or to a combination of them.
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INDEX
It is, therefore, of fundamental importance to define both the time of exposu-
re to the danger and how the exposure to the danger occurs.
Analyzing the conditions of “risk” is an organic process that must take into
account all those elements, of a technical, organizational, procedural and
behavioral nature, which help to outline the possible interactions between the
source of danger and the person.
Unlike danger, which is characterized by its physical objectivity, the risk is linked
to the hypothesis of a future event that could cause damage and therefore to
its uncertainty, to its greater or lesser predictability, to the anomalous evolu-
tion of the interaction man-source of danger.
The risk, however, is not only given by the probability that a damaging event
will occur, but also by the severity of the damage that the event can cause.
…and chance occurrence? …does that exist?
We must not confuse probability with chance.
Chance cannot be calculated, while in numerical terms the probability of an
event is defined as the ratio between the number of cases favorable to the
event and the number of possible cases.
The term probability is, in fact, considered a phenomenon that is observed
exclusively from the point of view of the possibility or otherwise of its occur-
rence, regardless of its nature.
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 INDEX

THE CALCULATION OF PROBABILITY THE CALCULATION OF RISK

Let’s take a look at a concrete example of how probability is calculated: the
game of dice. During a game, Mr. Rossi “bets” a sum of € 100 on the number
3 being obtained. He only has to throw one die! The calculation of probability,
in this case, is based on the physical characteristics of the die:
• it has 6 numbered faces;
• each face contains a number from 1 to 6.
Will Mr. Rossi win or lose?
What will be the probability of winning and of losing?
Each time Mr. Rossi throws the die he will have the following possibilities:
• win 1 time out of 6;
• lose 5 times out of 6.
Risk “assessment” is a rather complex process because it is the result of the
combination of two terms:
a) the probability that a certain event will occur;
b) the damage that may result from it.
The formula that is usually used for risk assessment is expressed with the
following relationship:
risk = probability x damage
(R = P x D)
The risk “R” is the product of the probability “P” that a negative event will
occur multiplied by the consequent damage “D”.

The probability of winning is 17%: if you throw the die 100 times, statistically Applying this relationship to the examples of the apple cutting and nuclear
the number 3 will only come up 17 times. power plant, the results obtained are those shown in the following table.
The probability of losing is 83%: throwing the die 100 times, statistically, a
number other than 3 will come up 83 times!

We can conclude that:

• the probability of an accident (alone) is not sufficient to define the risk;
• similarly, the extent of the damage (alone) is not enough to define the risk.
The risk is given by the combination of both factors: probability and damage!

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