Sources of Emergencies and Disasters: Natural, Human-Caused and Biological
ASP written lesson, 6 min read. ASP Domain 5: Emergency Preparedness and Response
Written with AI help from the rules it covers, then fact-checked against them. Study aid, not site-specific safety advice. The official rule controls.
What you'll learn
- Classify a hazard as natural, human-caused or biological
- List workplace risks typical of each source
- Rank hazards with a likelihood-severity matrix
- Explain why biological events behave differently from other emergencies
- Connect the hazard assessment to the emergency action plan and continuity planning
What this lesson covers
This lesson teaches how to identify and rank the risks from the three sources of emergencies in the blueprint: natural hazards (weather, earthquakes, wildfire), human-caused events (accidents, workplace violence, cyberattack, terrorism) and biological events (pandemics and bioterrorism). It uses Ready.gov and OSHA emergency preparedness categories and a simple likelihood-severity ranking.
This lesson is included with a pass
Written lessons come with every ASP pass, along with the video lessons, the question bank, mocks and the tutor. $80 per exam for 6 months, or $143 for all three for 12 months.
Try the free emergency action and fire prevention plans practice questions