Risk assessment

Risk assessment does not mean avoiding every practical containing a hazard. It means recognising what could go wrong and reducing the risk to the lowest practicable level while still achieving the purpose of the experiment. The precautions must be appropriate to the particular substances, quantities, equipment, method and people involved.

Risk assessment is not completed once and then forgotten. It begins before data collection, when apparatus and methods are chosen, and continues during the activity. An unexpected leak, damaged glassware, spill or unsafe behaviour changes the circumstances and therefore the risk.