Which statement about risk is true?

• A. Risk is only about probability of injury
• B. Risk encompasses both probability and consequence of harm
• C. Risk is the same as hazard
• D. Risk ignores exposure

Answer: (B)

Risk is about both how likely harm is to occur and how severe that harm would be if it does. This means it combines probability with the consequences, giving a single sense of how dangerous a situation is. In practice, consider exposure as part of that assessment: the chance of harm depends on how much, how long, and how often someone is exposed, as well as how harmful the hazard could be. A situation with a small chance of a very severe outcome under high exposure can have greater risk than one with a higher chance but mild consequences. Hazard, on the other hand, is just the potential to cause harm, not the actual risk under real conditions. So risk being the combination of probability and consequence (and including exposure in that calculation) is the best description.