ABSTRACT
Risk assessment The process of risk assessment, that is, an attempt to estimate the like lihood of an adverse outcome if a specified course of action is followed, is inherent in all human activity, not only in respect of tasks undertaken in the course of work. The concept of risk assessment is not new. The hunter gatherer of prehistoric times had to consider the risk to himself when hunting large animals capable of harming the hunter, and the wider population was at risk if poisonous berries were mistakenly gathered for the evening meal.
