RISK COMMUNICATION – UNDERSTANDING THE SCIENCE OR THE AFFECTED POPULATION?

The challenge that affects those who utilize risk communication is the ability to take technical information and present it to the non-technical public. While data that is wholly and completely objective would make sense to people that are scientifically incline, the public perceives it as information that is too complex for them to understand and comprehend. According to LaGrega, “[risk communication] enters the area of perception, and while not leaving the world of science, it is a much different world and one not relished by many scientists and engineers.”

“In the mid-1980’s, [risk communication] became recognized as a necessary component in risk management and community decision-making in environmental and occupational health issues” (US Public Health Service, 1995, p. 2). Many experts recognized that involving the public with technical papers and data can make the public comment process slow and cumbersome. However, the benefits of effective risk communication include a holistic approach of reaching a consensus among the stakeholders that includes solicitation of input from the public. In 1983, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission “provided the framework for improving risk assessment” (US Public Health Service, 1995, p. 2). The framework described the “methods for estimating risk to humans exposed to toxicants and in research directed to how individuals perceive risk” (US Public Health Service, 1995, p. 2).

In 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency published Stakeholder Involvement & Public Participation at the U.S. EPA. The document outlines various lessons and innovative methods to involve stakeholders and the public with decision and rule making. The process lists several lessons that were learned throughout the 1990’s which helped stakeholders and the public interject valuable input. The result was rules that were developed through consensus and more importantly decision ownership. Three lessons that were utilized and further refined were:

References

LaGrega, Michael D., Buckingham, Phillip L., Evans, Jeffrey C. 2001. Hazardous Waste Management. Chapter 14: Quantitative Risk Assessment.

US EPA. 2001. Stakeholder Involvement & Public Participation at the U.S. EPA. Retrieved September 7, 2010 from www.epa.gov/stakeholders

US Public Health Service. 1995. Risk Communication: Working with Individuals and Communities to Weigh the Odds. Retrieved September 7, 2010 from http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/pubs/prevrpt/archives/95fm1.htm