The objective of preventive conservation is to avoid or minimise damage and deterioration of artworks. There are ten main factors of deterioration that threaten artworks: Natural Disaster, Fire, Water, Crime, Pests, Dissociation, Pollution, Light and Ultraviolet Radiation, Incorrect Temperature and Incorrect Relative Humidity.
Risk assessment determines the magnitude of risk for each of the ten aforementioned basic factors of damage to which an artwork is exposed.