A fully updated handbook on effectively communicating environmental, safety, and health risks Written by two well-known risk practitioners with over twenty-five years' experience in the field, this fully updated Fifth Edition of Risk Communication: A Handbook for Communicating Environmental, Safety, and Health Risks offers sound, scientific research with practical, hands-on advice for those in the public and private sectors. Highly accessible and easy to understand, this must-read includes real-life examples of such headline-making events as the tsunami and radiation release in Japan in 2011, the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, and extreme weather events, along with the lessons learned from them. It offers new chapters on public health campaigns, and on the use and effectiveness of social media for risk communication purposes. Risk Communication is divided into five self-contained parts: Part I provides background information for understanding the basic theories and practices of risk communication Part II explains how to plan a risk communication effort Part III describes how to put risk communication into action Part IV discusses how to evaluate risk communication efforts, including techniques for measuring success Part V highlights special cases in risk communication, including disasters and other emergencies, international risk communication, and public health campaigns An ideal introduction to the field, this book is also a welcome reference for those involved in communicating environmental, safety, and health risks in government, industry, and academia.
Autorentext
REGINA E. LUNDGREN is an independent consultant and trainer for both government and industry who specializes in communicating environmental, safety, and health risks, and is a former research scientist for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington. Her publications have won national awards for their usability. She has led risk communication efforts for a variety of environmental, safety, and health issues, including Superfund cleanup, cancer cluster investigation, and bioterrorism planning as well as helped design risk assessment models for stakeholder use.
ANDREA H. McMAKIN is a communication specialist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington. She works with government and industry clients on communicating risks and other information concerning science, technology, and business. She's contributed to risk communication programs involving cancer clusters, health and environmental impacts from waste and Superfund sites, international nuclear and biological safety, worker chemical exposure, global climate change, and risk perception research.
Inhalt
LIST OF FIGURES xv
LIST OF TABLES xvii
PREFACE xix
ABOUT THE AUTHORS xxi
1 INTRODUCTION 1
To Begin 2
The Risk Communication Process 5
Audiences, Situations, and Purposes 6
References 7
PART I UNDERSTANDING RISK COMMUNICATION
2 APPROACHES TO COMMUNICATING RISK 11
Communication Process Approach 12
National Research Council's Approach 12
Mental Models Approach 13
Crisis Communication Approach 14
Convergence Communication Approach 15
Three-Challenge Approach 15
Social Constructionist Approach 16
Hazard Plus Outrage Approach 17
Mental Noise Approach 17
Social Network Contagion Approach 18
Social Amplification of Risk Approach 18
Social Trust Approach 19
Evolutionary Theory Approach 20
Extended Parallel Process Model Approach 20
Summary 21
References 21
Additional Resources 22
3 LAWS THAT MANDATE RISK COMMUNICATION 23
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 24
Executive Order 12898, Environmental Justice in Minority Populations 25
Executive Order 13045, Reduce Environmental Health and Safety Risks to Children 26
Food and Drug Administration Regulations on Prescription Drug Communication 28
National Environmental Policy Act 28
Natural Resource Damage Assessment 30
Occupational Safety and Health Act 30
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 32
Risk Management Program Rule 32
Privacy Rule 32
Other Government Inducements 33
International Standards 33
North American Standards 34
Grants 34
Summary 35
References 35
Additional Resources 35
4 CONSTRAINTS TO EFFECTIVE RISK COMMUNICATION 37
Constraints on the Communicator 37
Organizational Constraints 38
Emotional Constraints 44
Constraints from the Audience 45
Hostility and Outrage 45
Panic and Denial 48
Apathy 48
Mistrust of Risk Assessment 49
Disagreements on the Acceptable Magnitude of Risk 50
Lack of Faith in Science and Institutions 50
Learning Difficulties 51
Constraints for Both Communicator and Audience 51
Stigma 52
Stability of the Knowledge Base 52
Summary 53
References 53
Additional Resources 55
5 ETHICAL ISSUES 57
Social Ethics 58
The Sociopolitical Environment's Influence 58
The Use of the Risk Idiom 60
Fairness of the Risk 61
Consequences of Multiple Meanings 62
The Issue of Stigma 63
Organizational Ethics 63
Legitimacy of Representation 64
Designation of Primary Audience 65
Releasing Information 66
Attitude toward Compliance with Regulations 67
Personal Ethics 68
Using Persuasion 68
The Role of the Communicator 68
Organizational Ethics or Personal Ethics? 69
Summary 69
References 69
Additional Resources 70
6 PRINCIPLES OF RISK COMMUNICATION 71
Principles of Process 72
Know Your Communication Limits and Purpose 72
Whenever Possible, Pretest Your Message 73
Communicate Early, Often, and Fully 73
Remember That Perception Is Reality 74
Principles of Presentation 74
Know Your Audience 75
Do Not Limit Yourself to One Form or One Method 75
Simplify Language and Presentation, Not Content 75
Be Objective, Not Subjective 75
Communicate Honestly, Clearly, and Compassionately 76
Listen and Deal with Specific Concerns 76
Convey the Same Information to All Segments of Your Audience 77
Deal with Uncertainty 77
Principles for Comparing Risks 78
Use Analogies, but Do Not Trivialize 78
Use Ranges 79
Compare with Standards 79
Compare with Other Estimates of the Same Risk 80
Compare Traits 80
Do Not Compare Risks with Different Levels of Associated Outrage 80
Explain Reductions in Magnitude 81
Summary 81
References 81
Additional Resources 82
PART II PLANNING THE RISK COMMUNICATION EFFORT
7 DETERMINE PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES 85
Factors That Influence Purpose and Objectives 86
Legal Issues 86
Organizational Requirements 86
The Risk Itself 87
Audience Requirements 88
Checklist for Determining Purpose and Objectives 89
Reference 90
Additional Resources 90
8 ANALYZE YOUR AUDIENCE 91
Begin with Purpose and Objectives 92
Choose a Level of Analysis 93
Determine Key Audience Characteristics 95
Determine How to Find Audience Analysis Information 95
Incorporate Audience Analysis Information into Risk Communication Efforts 101
Checklist...