Tools for environmental professionals involved in risk communication at hazardous waste facilities undergoing siting, permitting, or remediation

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · Proceedings, Annual Meeting, Air Pollution Control Association; (USA)

OSTI ID:5115600

Bean, M C ^[1]

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1. CH2M Hill, Reston, VA (US)

Risk assessments are routinely a standard technical task completed to support hazardous waste facility siting, permitting, or remediation. Environmental professionals are often responsible for conveying the information generated by risk assessments to a public that is skeptical, usually well educated, and possibly fearful. Little advice is yet available to the practicing environmental professional on how to apply the theories of risk communication in these field situations. Kasperson cautions that our present state of knowledge prevents us from making authoritative statements about which risk communication techniques are likely to be successful in specific situations. The author discusses how the need to carefully test various risk communication techniques is superceded by the need to make decisions about managing hazardous wastes. These decisions will, for better or for worse, be based upon information about risks communicated to decisionmakers by the journeymen of the risk communication field: the environmental professionals who find themselves talking about risks as they are taking samples from monitoring wells, shoveling dirt in protective clothing, standing in front of hostile citizens at a hearing or even chatting with a neighbor at the grocery store.

• OSTI ID: 5115600
• Report Number(s): CONF-870695--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Proceedings, Annual Meeting, Air Pollution Control Association; (USA) Journal Volume: 1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290300 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320305 -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Industrial & Agricultural Processes-- Industrial Waste Management
320900 -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Education & Public Relations-- (1980-)
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990300* -- Information Handling
COMMUNICATIONS
DECISION MAKING
EDUCATION
ENERGY FACILITIES
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
MATERIALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
REMEDIAL ACTION
RESOURCE RECOVERY FACILITIES
RISK ASSESSMENT
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
US EPA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE PROCESSING PLANTS