Risk level is calculated by multiplying hazard severity by which factor?

• A. Exposure
• B. Amount of chemical used
• C. Time of day
• D. Number of personnel

Answer: (A)

Risk depends on both how dangerous the hazard is and how likely you are to encounter it. The factor that scales the potential harm into a real risk is exposure—the extent and likelihood of contact with the hazard (including concentration, duration, and route of exposure). If there’s no exposure, risk is minimal even for a highly hazardous substance; as exposure increases, risk rises accordingly. The amount used, time of day, or number of people can influence exposure in practice, but the core calculation uses exposure as the multiplying factor with hazard severity.