Citation

Nilson F, de Goër de Herve M. Safety Sci. 2023; 166: e106240.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ssci.2023.106240

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Societal safety is often centred on handling or managing a single risk from the perspective of a particular at-risk group or individual, in a specific time and place. However, such linear and single-facetted processes are rare and the current approaches in societal risk management fail to comprehensively include and discuss the full range of outcomes and its inherent uncertainty and complexity. By combining different examples of known and unknown outcomes of societal risk management in the scientific literature, this paper aim to contribute to the risk and safety research field by presenting a conceptual model of risk transfer. The conceptual model shows how traditional societal risk management strategies often aim at reducing a targeted risk, considering the original actors affected by this risk, in a defined geographical area and for a decided time frame despite risk management also altering the landscape of risks for other actors, in other places, and at other times, as well as for the original actors, in the original place, and during the original time. Combining these aspects in a conceptual model that accepts and incorporates complexity, the underlying intention is to initiate a discussion regarding the current approaches and understandings of societal risk management and societal safety.

Language: en

Keywords

Hazard; Risk homeostasis; Risk management; Safety; Vulnerability