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A risk assessment is not just a "list of
possibilities." It's function should be to identify weaknesses in a
system and to identify high risk scenarios that need attention and
mitigation.
Nuclear power plants perform "probabilistic
risk assessments" that involve many person years of effort, and include
quantitative fault trees, event event trees, internal initiating events,
external initiating events, and consequence analyses.
On a more reasonable level, a simple risk
assessment should at the very least, categorize events according to some
qualitative probability of occurrence, such as high, medium and low.
Consequences of events likewise should be categorized according to some
qualitative level of severity, e.g. high, medium and
low. Consequences could also be
classified by personnel injury/exposure/contamination and property
damage/contamination.
Risk = (probability of occurrence) x
(consequence) and can be calculated qualitatively in a simple
matrix. Those high risk scenarios (high probability and high cosequence)
should be adressed first to either reduce the likelihood or mitigate the
consequences.
Hope this helps.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2003 3:42
PM
Subject: Risk Assessment
I am new to this list and have never contributed. I am a
Radiology
Director for a medium sized rural hospital. Our new Safety
Officer for
the hospital has asked me to perform a Risk Assessment for our
Radiation
Safety plan. These are the following potential "hazards" I
have
identified thus far. Our Safety Officer, however, has mentioned
that he
would like a list of ALL possible radiation-related possibilites
(no
matter how extreme the may seem)...so, I ask you to please,
please
assist me with suggestions for this list.
Here is what I
have:
Radiating a Pregnant Patient
Large, Moderate, and Minor Spill
(internal and external)
Theft of Radioactive Material from the Nuc Med Hot
Lab
Employee Exceeding Annual Limits
Please help me with any other
suggestions.
Thank you in advance,
Susan
Harrison
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