ABSTRACT
At the end of this theoretical and practical journey into the concept of tolerability of risk (ToR), a number of key elements have been uncovered. First of all, Renn sets out that the concept of ToR is not only a way to make decisions about acceptable risks, but that it should be understood in the context of theoretical debates about risk governance. In that sense, although it has been primarily defined and applied by practitioners from the HSE, it is far more than a practitioners’ tool. It is an integral part of the wider and more sophisticated architecture of risk governance. The contributions from McQuaid and Bandle, on the other hand, illustrate that ToR is linked to specific historical and policy developments that took place within the UK under specific circumstances: it was originally invented to handle risks from nuclear power generation. The success of the concept, which has since been applied to a variety of health and safety situations, shows that the ToR concept is undoubtedly able to deliver.
