ABSTRACT
We are all more or less successful risk assessors and managers if we are still alive. Life is intrinsically filled with dangers, real or perceived. Planes may explode and go down either because of terrorist activities or safety rules violations, a nuclear power plant may blow up (Chernobyl) or release radioactive clouds (Three Mile Island), a chemical plant may release toxic gas (Bhopal), or a natural disaster (hurricane, flood, tornado, volcano, landslide) can strike the area in which we live. We may get acute food poisoning from either bacterial or chemical contamination, or we may suffer from chronic diseases that are in part caused by the food choices we make. Whether we are crossing the street, making investments, deciding what to eat, how to get from one place to another, choosing our profession, or getting married, we are making our decisions based on evaluating risks and benefits that a particular activity or avoidance would bring us. The subject of this book is to improve our analytical techniques in evaluating dangers and develop skills in confronting them.
