The process of risk assessment requires a factual base to define the likelihood of adverse health effects of workplace-associated injuries and exposures, and it attempts to balance scientific knowledge with concerns of staff, investigators, administration, and the public at large. It involves a systematic approach to the identification and characterization of physical, chemical, and biologic hazards to individuals and populations in their environment. The consequences of such hazards can include severe illness or injury, an irreversible health consequence, an unfamiliar disease, and an undesirable situation that might have been avoided by use of an alternative approach or technology. Risk assessments typically require that attention be given first to the most important hazards, that is, the ones that can result in the worst health-related outcomes.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK434...