Workplace Workplace 

Safety and Health 

Risk Analysis Risk Analysis 

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Severity Severity 

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Focus on Prevention 

Conducting a Hazard Risk Assessment 

Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

National institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
Focus on Prevention:
 

Conducting a Hazard Risk Assessment
 

Prepared by: 

Michael J. Brnich, Jr., CMSP1 

1

 Safety and Occupational Health Manager, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, National Institute for Occupational Safety 

and Health, Pittsburgh, PA. 

Launa G. Mallett, Ph.D.2 

2

 Sociologist, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh, PA. 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
 

Public Health Service
 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
 

Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
 

Pittsburgh, PA
 

July 2003 
2 

Focus on Prevention: Conducting a Hazard Risk Assessment 

Overview: The first step to emergency preparedness and maintaining a safe workplace is defining and 

analyzing hazards. Although all hazards should be addressed, resource limitations usually do not allow 

this to happen at one time. Risk assessment can be used to establish priorities so that the most dangerous 

situations are addressed first and those least likely to occur and least likely to cause major problems can be 

considered later. 

Purpose: This training package was developed to assist instructors as they (1) determine how to use risk 

assessment to improve safety preparedness and (2) present risk assessment concepts and tools to trainees. 

The concepts and tools presented here can be applied to any mine hazard. 

Audience: Information in this package is appropriate for workers from all types of mines. A risk analysis 

can be conducted by anyone familiar with the location being studied. 

Why Conduct a Hazard Risk Assessment? 

During a risk assessment, hazards are evaluated in terms of the likelihood that a problem may occur and 

the damage it would cause if such an event did occur. Adequate mine safety and emergency preparedness 

requires considering all of the possible hazards that could be encountered. Some hazards, however, are 

more likely to cause problems than others at a given mine and some would result in greater damage than 

would others. These differences are identified by conducting a risk analysis. The outcome of the analysis 

can be used to target resources at the types of events that are most likely to occur and/or are most 

destructive. Emergency situations that are very likely to happen and would do considerable damage to 

people and property should be targeted for immediate remediation and/or plans should be made for effective response if remediation isn’t possible. Potential situations that are less likely or that would have less 

severe consequences are identified for attention after the more serious hazards have been addressed. 

What is the First Step? 

Step 1: Choose the group who will conduct the analysis. 

The people involved in this activity should be knowledgeable about the area of the mine that is being 

assessed. Groups you may want to include might be emergency response teams, mine examiners, safety 

committee representatives, safety professionals, supervisors, and/or maintenance personnel. Another 

possibility is to have work crews from each area conduct the analysis. If you have many people 

conducting analyses, be sure to assign people to areas that they know well. You can then combine the 

findings from various sources for a detailed mine site analysis. 
3 

What work areas should be considered? 

Step 2: Define the geographic area to be included. 

Some examples of areas that could be selected for analysis include: a working area underground, 

maintenance and repair areas, mineral preparation and processing plants, the pit, or all mine property. 

If a large area is selected, it is best to subdivide it into smaller parts and then later combine the results. 

One way to choose the areas to be included is to ask the group where they think hazards would cause the 

most problems. Conduct an analysis of each “problem” area they identify. Combining these results will 

provide information about the hazards in the larger area. 

What Should Be Included in the Analysis? 

Step 3: Identify all of the possible hazards that exist in the area selected for study. 

One way to accomplish this is to start by determining all of the sources of hazards in the study area. The 

attached form called “Potential Hazards” can help organize the sources. Across the top of the form are 

labels for general types of hazards, such as transportation and electrical. Under each general label, trainees 

should list all of the specific sources of hazards of this type that can be found in the geographic area being 

analyzed. For example under the label electrical, items such as power substations or conveyor drive 

motors might be listed. Under transportation, someone might identify sources such as haul truck 

accidents. The items should be as specific as possible. A blank “Potential Hazards” is included should 

you choose to write in other hazard categories. 

How Are Hazards Analyzed? 

Step 4: Evaluate the risks. 

While there might be many ways of assessing risk, literature suggests using the two concepts of 

probability of occurrence and severity of effects [DeVaul 1992; Hau 1993]. For each hazard identified in 

Step 3, a judgment needs to be made about the probability of a hazard resulting in an emergency event and 

the severity of the consequences if the situation did happen. 

The attached “Hazard Risk Matrix” can be used to record a risk rating for each hazard in the terms high, 

medium, and low. To use the assessment several concepts must be understood. 

Hazard – 	 Any situation that has potential to cause damage. (Take these from the “Potential 

Hazards” form.) 

Probability – 	 Likelihood that the particular hazard will result in damage at this location. 

Severity – 	 An estimation of how serious the potential problem might be in terms of harm to 

people and/or damage to property. 

It should be kept in mind that secondary incidents can occur as a result of the initial incident. For 

example, a small fire on the surface at an underground coal mine may cause electric power interruption to 

one mine fan in a multiple fan ventilation system. This may, in turn, cause major changes in ventilation 
4 

underground and result in accumulations of methane in areas of the mine where it commonly is not found. 

An explosion hazard would now exist. Secondary incidents should also be considered during the rating 

process. 

In summary, to assess risk: (a) identify potential hazards; (b) determine whether the probability is high, 

medium, or low that the source will actually cause damage; and (c) determine if the seriousness to life, 

property, and the environment of such a hazard would be high, medium, or low. 

What Is Done With the Results? 

Step 5: Use the hazard ratings during resource allocation. 

Using this model, those hazards that would lead to situations with the greatest probability for occurring 

and the greatest severity to the operation would be considered as high/high-risk hazards. They would be 

the first priority for future training, mitigation, and/or response preparation efforts. 

One way to organize your findings is to first take all of the completed “Hazard Risk Matrix” forms and 

order them from high/high-risk to low/low-risk. Put the ordered forms in a notebook. As a hazard is 

addressed, the corresponding form can be moved to the back of the notebook and the focus can turn to the 

hazard on the next page. When you have worked through the entire book, you will have looked at all of 

the identified hazards. 

What Happens When You Are Finished? 

Step 6: The task of risk assessment is an ongoing activity. Any time the work environment changes, the 

risk assessment will need to be updated and the priorities reevaluated. Your risk assessment will be most 

useful to you if you never consider it finished. Instead, always think of it as a draft document that needs to 

be updated as things change. 

Sources for More Information 

DeVaul RE [1992]. Emergency response plan formulation and implementation. In: Proceedings of the 

23rd Annual Institute on Mining Health, Safety and Research. Blacksburg, VA: Virginia Polytechnic 

Institute and State University, pp. 67-74. 

Hau ML [1993]. Coordinating your facility’s emergency response. Port Clinton, OH: M. L. Hau and 

Assoc., Inc., pp. 1-17. 
Potential Hazards 

Planned Nature Transportation Electrical Geological Other 

ex: welding ex: winter storm ex: haul truck 

accident 

ex: power centers/ 

transformers 

ex: rock slide ex: fire 

1. Mine Section or Area ________________________________________________________ 

2. Date __________________________ 
Hazard Risk Matrix 

1. Hazard: ___________________________________________________________ 

2. Potential Location(s): ________________________________________________ 

____________________________________________________________________ 

____________________________________________________________________ 

____________________________________________________________________ 

RISK ANALYSIS 

HIGH 

Probability MEDIUM 

LOW 

LOW MEDIUM HIGH 

Severity 

NOTES:
 

3. Mine Section or Area ____________________________________________________ 

4. Date _____________________ 
 Potential Hazards 

Blank Sheet 

1. Mine Section or Area ________________________________________________________ 

2. Date __________________________ 
Delivering on the Nation’s Promise: 

Safety and health at work for all people 


Through research and prevention
 

For information about occupational safety and health topics contact NIOSH at: 

1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674) 

Fax: 513-533-8573 

E-mail: pubstaft@cdc.gov 

www.cdc.gov/niosh 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2003-139