ABSTRACT
Trust is central to risk communication. Discussions of its importance—or laments about its absence—are common in a wide variety of risk communication contexts, including food safety (Frewer et al. 2003), hazardous facility siting (Kasperson et al. 1992, Midden and Huijts 2009), remediation of contaminated sites (Eiser et al. 2007), development (Adger 2003), nuclear waste management (Blue Ribbon Commission 2012, Pijawka and Mushkatel 1991), emerging technologies (Kahan et al. 2007, Siegrist 2000), and disaster response (Elliott and Pais 2006). In many important risk communication contexts social distrust dominates. This pattern is reflected more broadly in American society. Trust levels have been weakening within the deepest levels of society and democratic institutions (Gallup 2008). However, a history of technological disasters and mismanagement exacerbates social concerns about the capabilities of the very institutions responsible for risk management and communication in many contexts, including private industry and Federal regulatory agencies. These events can arise from, for example, oil spills, mining accidents, wind turbine siting, hazardous waste disposal, food contamination, and security lapses, where private and public actors are perceived as not planning or responding adequately.
