| Title | ALARP and other conditions for tolerating geohazard risks |
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| Author | Strouth, A; LeSueur, P ; McDougall, S |
| Source | Geohazards VIII/Géorisques VIII; 2023 p. 1-8 |
| Links | Online - En ligne
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| Image |  |
| Year | 2023 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20220043 |
| Publisher | Canadian Geotechnical Society Eastern Quebec Section |
| Meeting | Geohazards 8; Quebec City; CA; June 12-15, 2022 |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; digital; on-line |
| File format | pdf |
| Subjects | general geology; Health and Safety; health hazards; Risk assessment; Risk management |
| Illustrations | figures |
| Program | Public
Safety Geoscience Quantifying geohazard risk |
| Released | 2023 01 05 |
| Abstract | Geohazard areas are commonly in the transitional 'grey-zone' between clearly safe enough and clearly unacceptable. Here, tolerance of geohazard risk tends to be conditional, meaning that the risk can be
lived with if certain conditions are met. A commonly cited condition is that risk must be reduced until it is As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP). However, inconsistent definitions of ALARP are in use, which has led to miscommunication and poor
decisions. Rather than referencing ALARP as the default condition for tolerating risk, specific, clear, and achievable conditions should be applied. Conditions for tolerating geohazard risks could include keeping the risk under review, following good
practice to manage risks, using available resources to reduce risk, applying cost-effective measures to reduce risk, or reducing risk until the cost of further risk reduction is grossly disproportionate to the benefit gained. Risk management
decisions must also consider the costs of risk reduction, which extend beyond the price of mitigation structures. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Geohazard areas are commonly in the transitional 'grey-zone' between clearly safe enough and clearly unacceptable. Here, tolerance of geohazard risk
tends to be conditional, meaning that the risk can be lived with if certain conditions are met. A commonly cited condition is that risk must be reduced until it is As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP). However, inconsistent definitions of ALARP
are in use, which has led to miscommunication and poor decisions. Rather than referencing ALARP as the default condition for tolerating risk, specific, clear, and achievable conditions should be applied. Conditions for tolerating geohazard risks
could include keeping the risk under review, following good practice to manage risks, using available resources to reduce risk, applying cost-effective measures to reduce risk, or reducing risk until the cost of further risk reduction is grossly
disproportionate to the benefit gained. Risk management decisions must also consider the costs of risk reduction, which extend beyond the price of mitigation structures. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 329996 |
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