ABSTRACT
Risk communication to the general public is becoming a central feature of policy in the area of public health and safety as it relates to technological hazards [1, 2].
In response to the Bhopal tragedy, the US Chemical Manufacturers’ Association unveiled its Community Awareness and Emergency Response program in 1985. This program has been widely adopted and has generally received local support. Initial legal developments in the US have been scattered, mostly at State level. However, in 1986 Congress enacted the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act as Title 3 of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act. Title 3 applies to facilities dealing with one or more of some 400 ‘extremely hazardous substances’. It calls for the establishment of local emergency response committees which, among other things, shall make provisions for public meetings to discuss emergency plans.
