ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the various types of risk, how they can be measured, and how they can be represented. It provides an overview of how quantitative safety goals can be set. The book presents direct estimates from statistical data of the levels of individual and societal risk which exist. It aims to examining the suitability of the technique for assessing whether a given risk is tolerable. The book reviews risk estimation for risk evaluators, not risk estimators. It is concerned with risk evaluation and discusses the principles of risk comparability and risk acceptability or tolerance. The book also examines ways in which useful reference levels of risk can be defined. It also reviews the safety policy and quantitative targets which have been proposed by various regulatory bodies.
