| NSES Content Standard F
Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Risks and benefits Grades 5-8, page 169 Risk analysis considers the type of hazard and estimates the number
of people that might be exposed and the number likely to suffer consequences.
The results are used to determine the options for reducing or eliminating
risks.
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Benchmark 3C The Nature of Technology:
Issues in Technology
Grades 6-8, page 56
New technologies increase some risks and decrease others. Some of the
same technologies that have improved the length and quality of life for
many people have also brought new risks.
Benchmark 3C The Nature of Technology:
Issues in Technology
Grades 9-12, page 57
In deciding on proposals to introduce new technologies or to curtail
existing ones, some key questions arise concerning alternatives, risks,
costs, and benefits. What alternative ways are there to achieve the same
ends, and how do the alternatives compare to the plan being put forward?
Who benefits and who suffers? What are the financial and social costs,
do they change over time, and who bears them? What are the risks associated
with using (or not using) the new technology, how serious are they, and
who is in jeopardy? What human, material, and energy resources will be
needed to build, install, operate, maintain, and replace the new technology,
and where will they come from? How will the new technology and its waste
products be disposed of and at what costs?
Science for All Americans The Nature
of Technology:
Chapter 3, page 32
Analysis of risk, therefore, involves estimating a probability of occurrence
for every undesirable outcome that can be foreseen--and also estimating
a measure of the harm that would be done if it did occur. The expected
importance of each risk is then estimated by combining its probability
and its measure of harm. The relative risk of different designs can then
be compared in terms of the combined probable harm resulting from each.