Which statement about residual risk after protective measures is correct?

• A. It is eliminated completely
• B. It increases over time
• C. It remains equal to the initial risk
• D. It remains the remaining level of risk after protective measures

Answer: (D)

Residual risk is the amount of risk that stays after protective measures are in place. Safeguards reduce either how likely an incident is or how severe its consequences, but they rarely remove every hazard or completely eliminate all risk. So the risk you’re left with—the residual risk—is lower than the initial, unmitigated risk, and it serves as the level you still need to monitor and possibly reduce further. It won’t necessarily drift upward on its own; it stays at a lower level until protections fail or new threats emerge, at which point you may implement additional measures.