Which term describes the elimination of a hazard?

• A. Risk Avoidance
• B. Risk Reduction
• C. Risk Transfer
• D. Risk Retention

Answer: (A)

Eliminating a hazard is risk avoidance—the act of removing the hazard from the environment or choosing not to engage in the activity that creates it. When the hazard is removed, exposure to that hazard disappears, so the opportunity for harm is essentially eliminated.

This is the most direct way to prevent harm because it stops the risk at its source. Other strategies reduce or shift risk but don’t remove the hazard itself: risk reduction lowers the likelihood or severity while the hazard or exposure still exists; risk transfer shifts the potential loss to someone else (like insurance) while the hazard remains; risk retention means accepting the risk and dealing with any loss if it occurs.