TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax 01-972-952-9435.
AbstractThe understanding of hazards is one of the greatest risk reducers available to us. If we know why a plant or operation is dangerous, then we can manage it safely. However, ignorance still persists. Some risk assessments make recommendations but fail to deliver hazard knowledge. If this is to become a primary deliverable, who needs to know what? The needs of the directors are different from technicians or plant operators. The paper proposes four levels of knowledge and associated responsibilities. It also discusses a problem; that the explicit documentation of risks and hazards would be recovered in the event of an accident and used as prosecution evidence, hence the title; "The Body or the Smoking Gun".