Resource Letter: RA-1: Risk analysis

Abstract

This Resource Letter provides an introduction to the literature on risk analysis. It starts with a discussion of how risks are calculated with roughly decreasing reliability: from historical data; new risks calculated by an understanding of engineering processes and new risks calculated by analogies with other processes. The Resource Letter then lists journals and books and discusses how risks are perceived, uncertainty, risks at low doses, major public misconceptions, the costs to reduce hazards, and the way the courts handle issues of risk.