ABSTRACT

Communicating risk information can be a daunting challenge and when environmental factors are involved the challenge becomes a real trial. A reason could be the perception of the environment by the majority of the people as intangible and pristine; so how this benign being can pose a risk or threat to the population? The increased visibility of global change, terrorism, industrialization and catastrophic emergencies underscores the potential for environmental related human tragedy along with economic, social, and political consequences. Therefore, the environmental risk communication must be targeted, understandable, and effective without inadvertently provoking hostility, mistrust or panic. Because risk, is far from being a purely scientifi c issue, other important factors must be addressed before delivering the information. An important component of the risk is perception. Risk is perceived according to the characteristic of the hazard, personal and social context. Many low-income communities as Hispanic, Afro-Americans and other minorities have faced and continue to face disproportionate environmental exposures and disease. Sometimes the industries, news and governmental agencies fail in the effort to overcome the prevalent public distrust. Environmental risk communication is a powerful and necessary tool giving the information to the public in a clear and objective way.