Risk Assessment and Mitigation Flashcards

Which risk assessment method uses a matrix to plot the likelihood of a hazard against its potential consequence?

Answer: Probability-Consequence Matrix

A Probability-Consequence Matrix visually categorizes risks by plotting likelihood on one axis and severity of impact on the other to prioritize mitigation.

In the context of Envision, which category of risk is most directly addressed by selecting locally sourced materials?

Answer: Supply chain disruption risk

Locally sourced materials reduce supply chain disruption risk by shortening the logistics chain and reducing dependence on distant suppliers.

A project team identifies that a new highway may increase urban heat island intensity over time. This is best classified as which type of risk?

Answer: Chronic climate risk

Urban heat island intensification is a gradual, long-term effect of climate change and land use, making it a chronic climate risk.

Under the Envision framework, which mitigation hierarchy step should always be considered FIRST before other risk reduction strategies?

Answer: Avoidance

Avoidance—eliminating the source of risk entirely—is the first and most preferred step in the mitigation hierarchy.

Which tool is specifically designed to help sustainability professionals quantify the likelihood of extreme weather events affecting infrastructure over a 50-year asset life?

Answer: Climate Vulnerability Assessment

A Climate Vulnerability Assessment systematically evaluates how projected climate changes and extreme events may affect infrastructure over its service life.

A project discovers contaminated soil on site. Which risk response strategy is demonstrated by capping the contamination and monitoring it in place rather than removing it?

Answer: Risk acceptance with controls

Capping and monitoring contamination in place is an engineered control that limits exposure while accepting the residual risk under a management plan.

Which metric is commonly used to compare the relative societal risk of different infrastructure failure scenarios?

Answer: Expected Annual Damage (EAD)

Expected Annual Damage aggregates the probability-weighted consequences of various failure scenarios into a single comparable annualized figure.