Which statement best defines a dangerous incident?

Which statement best defines a dangerous incident?

• A. A minor hazard
• B. A near miss
• C. A serious risk to health or safety emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard.
• D. A routine equipment failure.

Answer: (C)

A dangerous incident means there is a serious risk to health or safety that comes from exposure to a hazard that is present now or about to be present very soon. The key point is the combination of seriousness and the immediacy of exposure. If a hazard is only minor or if harm almost occurred but didn’t (a near miss), there isn’t that immediate or imminent exposure to a serious risk, so it doesn’t meet the definition. Likewise, a routine equipment failure isn’t necessarily a dangerous incident unless it creates or reveals an immediate or imminent serious risk.

A dangerous incident means there is a serious risk to health or safety that comes from exposure to a hazard that is present now or about to be present very soon. The key point is the combination of seriousness and the immediacy of exposure. If a hazard is only minor or if harm almost occurred but didn’t (a near miss), there isn’t that immediate or imminent exposure to a serious risk, so it doesn’t meet the definition. Likewise, a routine equipment failure isn’t necessarily a dangerous incident unless it creates or reveals an immediate or imminent serious risk.