Getting the message across: is communicating risk to the public worth it?

Full Abstract

The public and media often seem irrational in their conception of hazard and risk. Scare stories abound, and large sums of money may be spent to mitigate tiny risks. This article describes why it may be human not to be entirely logical about risk. The article also describes what makes risk professionals afraid of entering a public debate on risk. This information is then used to help define how we could improve communication with the public about risk. We discuss how the National Radiological Protection Board is tackling this now.

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Author information

Author/s: Meara, Jill (J);

Affiliation: National Radiological Protection Board, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon, UK. jill.meara@nrpb.org

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of radiological protection : official journal of the Society for Radiological Protection (J Radiol Prot), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Mar; vol 22 (issue 1) : pp 79-85

Dates: Created 2002/04/03; Completed 2003/05/30; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 11929117, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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