iNTeg-Risk project: concept and first results

In 2012, the iNTeg-Risk project (www.integrisk.eu-vri.eu) has successfully finished its first 3?years of work. At this point, the project has already yielded a part of large set of results envisaged for its 4.5?years long work plan. This paper recalls the main goals of the project and analyzes the results delivered; as for instance, the work done in single emerging risk representative applications, the work on the development on the iNTeg-Risk paradigm, framework and methodologies of/for emerging risk management, the work on ‘iNTeg-Risk 1StopShop’ (the platform for integrating project results) and its main elements –Risk Atlas, RiskEars (the database of early emerging risk indications/notions), the database of key performance indicators, the work on Safetypedia, etc. The work on harmonization of practices when dealing with emerging risks is certainly the most relevant result in the first years of work on the project. The work has been based on (a) the comparison of different application areas and (b) definition of the elements needed for building the ‘common European approach’ to emerging risks. Some real-life events which took place in the first 2?years of the project (e.g. oil spill in Gulf of Mexico, Fukushima disaster accident in Viareggio, incidents caused by unmanned devices, natural hazards in populated areas, …) have clearly justified some of the choices made in the definition phase of the project. In addition, they have confirmed the need to strengthen the efforts needed to achieve a common understanding about principles of dealing with emerging risks on the broader level – e.g. in the area of EU standardization where the respective preparatory work has started, too.