On the ALARP approach to risk management

There is an increasing trend by regulatory authorities for the introduction of the as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) approach in dealing with risk management of proposed or existing complex hazardous systems. For these, decisions about acceptability or tolerability of risks and consequences can have very significant financial, economic and other consequences for the proponents. Conversely, there may be very significant social and socio-economic implications. ALARP as a guide to achieving a satisfactory outcome has a certain intuitive appeal for the practical management of industrial and other risks. However, as suggested herein, there are a number of areas of concern about the validity of this approach. These include representativeness, morality, philosophy, political reality and practicality. An important, and in some respects fundamental, difficulty is that the risk acceptance criteria are not fully open to public scrutiny and can appear to be settled by negotiation.