Following numerous tests of the hypothesis, if it cannot be disproved, it is accepted as part of the factual body of science. Basically science is a very conservative and time-consuming process which demands high level of proof to establish a fact. The goal is to advance our understanding about phenomena in nature. Risk assessment is not science. Risk assessment structures the best available scientific and other relevant information to make decisions about hazards.
Hazards are things that can go wrong.
Or if I invest money in a particular stock, how likely will I achieve a net financial gain. As a formal discipline, risk assessment has been applied in fields such as engineering, finance, and insurance for many years. World trade restrictions must be based on the findings of risk assessment, not the politics of the past. Risk assessment as a formal academic discipline is young enough that the definition of terms in the field are not standardized. To complicate matters, risk studies took words from the vernacular and endowed them with special significance.