ABSTRACT

In assessing the potential risks of an operation or facility, the initial risks most safety professionals address are the naturally occurring risks which we live with as human beings inhabiting the planet earth, namely natural disaster risks. The potential risks will vary depending on your location on the planet as well as the types of operations being performed and the facility structure. For example, if your company was operating a facility near a volcano, the most devastating potential risk would be the volcano erupting. However, for most operations, the potential risk of a volcanic eruption is minimal because the nearest volcano is hundreds, if not thousands of miles from the facility. Each of these facilities possesses the potential risk of a volcanic eruption; however, the probability of a disaster resulting from a volcanic eruption is far greater in the first facility than it is at the second facility.