What is a hazard?

Introduction
Every day we face things that potentially could cause harm or damage to ourselves, our organisations and the environment. To understand what these things could be, first of all, we have to understand the term "hazard".

The term "hazard"
A hazard can be defined in more than one way. Many times, it is defined in combination with the term “risk” or “danger”. In the Cambridge Dictionary a hazard is defined as “something dangerous and likely to cause damage” (Definition of hazard). Another way of defining a hazard can be found on the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), whose definition is commonly used when talking about workplace health and safety. The definition they use is: “A hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someone.” (CCOHS: Hazard and Risk). So basically, a hazard is the potential of harm that may cause loss of life, health impacts, property or equipment losses, social and economic disruption, or environmental impacts.

Sources Used
Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). "Definition of hazard". Retrieved from dictionary.cambridge: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hazard

CCOHS. (n.d.). "Hazard and risk". Retrieved from Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety: https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/hazard/hazard_risk.html

About the Author

Dahlia Nedergaard

dh@rocconsult.eu

Other articles:

Risk and culture
Risk and culture This post helps you to understand why different people and social groups fear different risks...
Introduction to Human Reliability Analysis (HRA)
Humans play a vital role in the design, management, maintenance, and operation of technical systems, within the execution and planning of large and complex operations. Humans tend to make mistakes and are generally more complex than technical systems, which makes it difficult to predict and prevent the types of mistakes they might make.  It is …

GET IN TOUCH

Feel free to contact us

for more information

+45 28 60 49 50

contact@rocconsult.eu

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER

Our core business is rehearsing

excellence in your project


RoC Drill is used by:

RoC Consult ApS - All rights reserved.

We use cookies to allow us to better understand how the site is used. By continuing to use this site, you consent to this policy. Click to learn more