ENV SP Risk Assessment and Mitigation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which risk assessment method uses a matrix to plot the likelihood of a hazard against its potential consequence?
- Fault Tree Analysis
- Risk Priority Number scoring
- Probability-Consequence Matrix (Correct answer)
- Monte Carlo Simulation
Correct 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.
Question 2: In the context of Envision, which category of risk is most directly addressed by selecting locally sourced materials?
- Political risk
- Supply chain disruption risk (Correct answer)
- Regulatory compliance risk
- Geotechnical risk
Correct answer: Supply chain disruption risk
Locally sourced materials reduce supply chain disruption risk by shortening the logistics chain and reducing dependence on distant suppliers.
Question 3: 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?
- Acute physical risk
- Chronic climate risk (Correct answer)
- Transition risk
- Liability risk
Correct 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.
Question 4: Under the Envision framework, which mitigation hierarchy step should always be considered FIRST before other risk reduction strategies?
- Transfer
- Control
- Avoidance (Correct answer)
- Acceptance
Correct answer: Avoidance
Avoidance—eliminating the source of risk entirely—is the first and most preferred step in the mitigation hierarchy.
Question 5: Which tool is specifically designed to help sustainability professionals quantify the likelihood of extreme weather events affecting infrastructure over a 50-year asset life?
- Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
- Climate Vulnerability Assessment (Correct answer)
- Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA)
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
Correct answer: Climate Vulnerability Assessment
A Climate Vulnerability Assessment systematically evaluates how projected climate changes and extreme events may affect infrastructure over its service life.
Question 6: 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?
- Risk avoidance
- Risk transfer
- Risk reduction
- Risk acceptance with controls (Correct answer)
Correct 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.
Question 7: Which metric is commonly used to compare the relative societal risk of different infrastructure failure scenarios?
- Net Present Value (NPV)
- Expected Annual Damage (EAD) (Correct answer)
- Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
- Carbon Footprint Index
Correct answer: Expected Annual Damage (EAD)
Expected Annual Damage aggregates the probability-weighted consequences of various failure scenarios into a single comparable annualized figure.
ENV SP Risk Assessment and Mitigation 2
Which risk assessment method uses a matrix to plot the likelihood of a hazard against its potential consequence?