UNDERSTANDING RISK i

By addressing the safety of building users and the stability of structures under various natural and technological hazard conditions, building and fire codes address various risks to life and property. As performance-based building and fire codes are developed, they are increasingly being aimed at establishing clear and unambiguous levels of socially acceptable risk. What does this mean – to regulatory developers – to enforcers – to practitioners – to the public? This paper discusses the concepts of risk, acceptable risk, risk characterization with the aim of helping those in the building regulatory process better understand the complexities of resolving risk decisions.

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