From the early stages of industrialization in Europe, America or Japan, the living standards of populations have drastically improved thanks to explorations, the use of coal, steel, as well as of nuclear or nanotechnologies, although such progress is increasingly called into question. However, would these improvements have been possible had their initiators been aware of the human and environmental consequences right from the beginning? Nowadays, companies boasting ecological values attempt to limit the consequences of risks by regulating or even prohibiting any action deemed dangerous, as illustrated by the "precautionary principle". In this context, this paper offers a reflection on the importance given to geography when it comes to dealing with the notion of risk and accepting it, arguing for a transdisciplinary approach, thus integrating perceptions and representations of the risk concept into the study of territories.