Occupational health & safety
Hazard
A source, situation, or act with the potential to cause injury or ill health — the starting point of all occupational risk management.
Definition
In occupational safety and health, a hazard is a source with a potential to cause injury and ill health, including hazardous situations or circumstances with the potential for exposure leading to harm. The ISO 45001 definition, which also underpins ILO-based practice, deliberately separates hazard (the potential to cause harm) from risk (the likelihood and severity of that harm occurring), making hazard identification the first step of any safety management system.
References
standard definition and hazard-risk distinction
Overview
What it means
The distinction disciplines thinking: a wet floor is a hazard; the chance of someone slipping is the risk. Hazards span physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, and psychosocial sources — ISO 45001 explicitly includes workload, harassment, and organisational culture. Controls aim first at the hazard itself, not merely at reducing exposure to it.
How it is used
Hazard identification is a mandatory process in ISO 45001 and national OSH law; the concept structures risk assessments, audits, incident investigation, and the hierarchy of controls.
Why it matters
Clear hazard-risk separation is the conceptual foundation of modern safety management and of the social dimension of supply-chain due diligence. **Note:** 1332 Hazard identification merges into this entry as the first process step.
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