ABSTRACT
This chapter covers the broad notions of risk and risk assessment, and how they are applied within the practice of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA). The broader risk management framework has two elements: risk assessment and post-assessment. The key outcome of a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) is a series of risk contour lines around the hazardous facility. Chapman refers to economic risk, for example trading on share markets where there is always uncertainty as to whether the price of a share will go up or down, thus the risk is of losing money. Two broad types of risk assessment were identified – QRA and qualitative risk assessment. Both ESIA and QRA can be seen as part of a broader planning and management framework, where each assessment process provides a measure of likely impacts, which can then be compared to established criteria as part of decision-making and follow-up (post-assessment). Mitigation hierarchies can be applied to both assessment processes.
