Hi there. In a previous video,
we saw that the notion of risk is studied in
two rather different academic domains: Security Studies,
and what is loosely called Safety Science.
We saw that Security Studies is a subfield within the Social Sciences.
By contrast, Safety Science can be found in the field of Engineering.
So, what is Safety Science and what does it do?
Safety Science has been defined as a field of study that
looks into the science and technology of human safety.
It arose as a field of study in
the previous century predominantly in response to technological developments.
New technologies oftentimes contribute to solving societal or economic challenges,
but they may also lead to new risks for human beings or the environment.
Safety Science seeks to understand these risks and provide guidance in mitigating them.
It studies safety in a number of areas where harm to humans can arise.
One area of study, for instance,
is harm that results from natural hazards.
For example, from floods,
or earthquakes, or extreme weather events such as hurricanes.
In this subfield of Safety Science,
researchers seek to develop models that can help us predict
the likelihood and impact of natural hazards in specific locations.
Using these models, they can assess whether the level of protection in these locations
is adequate or should be improved to increase the safety of people living there.
A second subdomain of Safety Science is airplane and vehicle safety.
Here, the goal is to understand how to decrease
various safety risks related to different forms of transportation.
This subdomain of Safety Science has played
a major role in improving the safety of modern day cars and airplanes,
for example, leading to a significant reduction of accidents.
A third subdomain of Safety Science is the field of chemical,
industrial, and nuclear safety.
Over the past centuries,
we've created an increasing number of very complex technological systems,
for instance, for energy provision.
These systems have made our lives easier and they also play
a central role in facilitating economic activity in our societies.
They've become elements of the so-called critical infrastructure for our way of life.
While complex technological systems such as
nuclear power plants and the chemical industry have brought us many benefits,
at the same time, these systems are also hazardous.
They are risky technologies in the sense that when accidents occur,
they may lead to significant harm to large groups of people and to the environment.
A chemical spill or a nuclear accident can have far reaching and
grave effects on the health and well-being of animals plants and humans.
Therefore, studying safety in relation to chemical,
industrial, and nuclear systems is literally of vital importance.
A fourth and final subdomain of Safety Science is the area of Public Health.
In this field, scientists study the potential and
consequences of various health risks for communities and the public at large.
Examples include ensuring that the food we eat is safe,
preparing for epidemics or viral outbreaks,
and investigating the effects of lifestyle choices in
relation to certain diseases, for example, diabetes.
One thing to note about Safety Science is that it
focuses on quite different things than Security Studies.
In a previous video,
we saw that Security Studies seeks to understand the causes of security threats.
For example, it aims to uncover why individuals radicalize and become terrorists,
or it seeks to understand why nation states go to war.
In both cases, human beings make an intentional choice to harm others.
In contrast, as the name already suggests,
Safety Science focuses on safety,
that is, on how to keep humans safe from harm.
Safety Science seeks to understand and improve
the ways in which we can protect human beings from harm.
So, the focus is not so much on the cause of harm but rather on the target of harm,
on the receiving end,
on who or what comes to harm.
In the previous video,
we saw that Security Studies aims to understand why risks emerge.
In contrast, Safety Science aims to understand what we can do against risks.
Second, safety scientists mostly focus on harms that are non-intentional or accidental.
They study the risks that result from
natural hazards such as volcano eruptions and floods,
or they study risk of accidents in chemical plants,
or they seek to understand the risk of
earthquakes for the design of nuclear power plants.
In recent years, safety scientists have increasingly started
focusing on intentional threats in relation to industrial safety,
or the safety of flood systems,
for example, in relation to terrorism.
However, the vast majority of the work in Safety Science is
targeted at non-intentional accidental hazards.