Fundamentals of Risk Management

Alternative approaches
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Increasing importance of resilience
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the topic of resilience. Perhaps, 
the trend started with government and local or municipal authorities. There was 
recognition during the 1990s and 2000s that society, in general, and communities, in 
particular, had to become more resilient. This developing awareness initially arose in 
relation to civil emergencies, as well as natural catastrophes, such as earthquakes, 
and extreme weather events. Although the initial concern with resilience may have 
started with the consideration of how to respond to wide area events, broader concerns 
have developed in recent times.
The increasing awareness and concern in relation to resilience is clearly demon-
strated by the fact that the replacement for British Standard BS 25999:2006 Part 1 
‘Code of Practice – Business Continuity Management’ was ISO 22301:2012 ‘Societal 
Security – Business Continuity Management Systems – Requirements’. A number of 
other standards in the ISO 22300 series are being developed and there are moves 
towards developing resilience standards in other countries. One of the best established 
resilience standards is the Organizational Resilience Standard (ASIS SPC.1-2009) 
published by the American National Standards Institute.
This ASIS standard takes an enterprise-wide view of risk management, enabling 
an organization to develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent when possible,
As nanotechnology is an emerging field, there is great debate regarding the extent that it
will benefit or pose risks for human health. Nanotechnology’s health impact can be split into 
two aspects: the potential for medical applications to cure disease, and the potential health 
hazards posed by exposure to nano-materials.
The extremely small size of nano-materials means that they are much more readily taken 
up by the human body than larger-sized particles. How these nano-particles behave inside 
the organism is one of the big issues that needs to be resolved. The behaviour of nano-
particles is a function of their size, shape and surface reactivity with the surrounding tissue. 
Apart from what happens if non-degradable or slowly degradable nano-particles accumulate 
in organs, another concern is their potential interaction with biological processes inside the 
body: because of their large surface, nano-particles on exposure to tissue and fluids will 
immediately absorb onto their surface some of the macro-molecules they encounter.
The large number of variables influencing toxicity means that it is difficult to generalize 
about health risks associated with exposure to nano-materials; each new nano-material must 
be assessed individually and all material properties must be taken into account. Health and 
environmental issues combine in the workplace of companies engaged in producing or
using nano-materials and in the laboratories engaged in nano-science and nanotechnology 
research. It is safe to say that current workplace exposure standards for dusts cannot be 
applied directly to nano-particle dusts.
risks of nanotechnology

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