This report provides the vital tools engineers and decision makers need to better understand acceptable risk processes, and how those processes can enable them to develop risk reduction strategies and implement actions to reduce lifeline losses from future earthquakes. Because the disruption of lifelines from natural hazards has a direct impact on the world's regional economies and the health of its citizens, it is important to understand natural hazards, how they can impact lifelines, and what can be done to minimize the impact when they occur. These three elements, and the processes used to act upon them, affect decisions that involve acceptable risk processes. The topic of 'acceptable risk' provides one way of bringing integrated systems risk evaluations for disaster explicitly into a decision-making context. Topics include: technical issues; risk criteria issues; communication, administration, and regulations issues.