The Risk Factor

Will you carry an umbrella to work today? Shall you dry your hair with a towel, or use the electric dryer? Shall you commute by jeepney, take a cab, or drive? What will you have for lunch, vegetables or meat? Will you finally sign up for the pension plan your officemate is offering or will you ask to see another one?

These are just a few of the many, many risk assessments that people make everyday. Their decisions or choices are guided by their knowledge of pertinent facts. In the past 25 years or so there has developed a discipline called risk analysis. With the aid of computers and highly sensitive measurement techniques, certain numbers are assigned to probabilities. The numbers help experts in guiding people towards safer ways of living.

The government tries to protect the citizenry from risks-some risks-by assigning various agencies to focus on particular risk areas. There's the Bureau of Food and Drugs, the Products Standards Office, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Disaster Coordinating Councils, and many other offices whose functions center on public protection and safety.

Yet, in spite of all efforts, risks continue to be a fact of life. The possibility of treachery or misunderstanding lurks around every personal relationship. Every electrical appliance in homes and offices emits electromagnetic fields that can cause radiation. Travel, no matter the distance, always espouses the probability of an accident-whether on the road, at sea, or on air.

Nature itself poses many risks. The air that people breathe carries molecules of deadly toxins, like, for instance, dioxin, radon, benzene and formaldehyde. Going out on a nice sunny day can expose one to the risk of skin cancer. Normally people won't bother about applying protective skin lotion, because they think sunlight is natural. All plants have biochemical defenses against fungi, insects and herbivores, which poisons go up the food chain, all the way to the dining table. And, there's always the risk of being hit by lightning or a meteorite, or being caught in a typhoon and other natural disasters.

Most grocery products, especially processed food, contain additives that have been found to cause tumors and other adverse physical reactions in laboratory animals. Fruits and vegetables are commonly grown with chemicals-fertilizers and pesticides-that are hazardous to human health. Moreover, many farm produce are treated with chemical preservatives to make them stand longer on store shelves.

Deadlier risks are much closer by. Strokes, heart attacks and other diseases take about 15 times more lives than accidents, commonly thought to be the number one risk. The health risk from smoking cigarettes is far greater than the industrial fumes that fill the atmosphere. Environmental carcinogens seem to account for only a very small percentage of all cancers. Dietary and lifestyle factors rank the highest of cancer risks.

The amazing thing, however, is that the human lifespan is extending despite the increasing risks that people are exposed to. The human body is an amazing machine with great capability for self-protection. The body's natural defenses against common environmental pollutants and other threats are remarkable. And the mind provides constant support.

Moreover, public consciousness about health and safety is growing. The modern health-care system is making health services more available. People are more safety-conscious, too. There seems to be a popular realization that risks can be greatly minimized with healthy habits and precaution. The risk factor in human living may be inconquerable, but it seems people are handling it very well.