When we think about justice, we are focused on the distribution of benefits and burdens of social cooperation and we seek to ensure that no particular group is consistently made worse off by the ways social and political structures function.
In focusing on distribution of risk, we look to see which individuals or groups have a greater likelihood of being harmed given their position. For example, individuals who live in closer proximity to sources of pollution are at greater risk of respiratory disease, and individuals who work in health care settings are at a greater risk of exposure to pathogens.
Considerations of reciprocity are especially relevant to discussion of distribution of risk; we are less concerned about individuals taking on risk when they are compensated or rewarded for doing so. For example, the salaries of health care providers might be seen as one way of offsetting risk. Organizations can also express a commitment to reciprocity by taking steps to minimize exposure to risk in the form of investments in prophylactic treatments or personal protective equipment.