In risk assessment, what factors are used to determine overall risk level?

• A. Severity, probability, and controls to mitigate risk.
• B. Location of incident only.
• C. Number of witnesses only.
• D. Time of day only.

Answer: (A)

Risk level comes from looking at how severe the potential harm could be, how likely it is to occur, and how effective current controls are at reducing that risk. Severity tells you how bad the outcome could be; probability tells you how often it could happen; and controls influence risk by lowering either the chance of occurrence or the impact if it does occur, creating less residual risk. The other factors—location, number of witnesses, or time of day—don’t by themselves determine the overall risk level, though they can shape context or response priorities.