1. Preliminary concepts

Danger , which precedes risk, is defined as the potential for harm or damage to people, property or the environment. This abstract concept covers both physical or material contingencies accessible to our senses, and immaterial contingencies such as potential or kinetic energy. More generally, a hazard can be a substance (toxic product, etc.), an object (virus, asteroid, etc.), a phenomenon (flood, earthquake, etc.) or a process (diagnostic error, administrative error, operating error, etc.).

Having made this preliminary statement, risk involves two concepts. The first, qualitative, concerns its origin, i.e. its genesis in the...