ABSTRACT
This chapter provides insight into how organizational dynamics have shaped risk communication in the United States. Risk communication was born of Bhopal, matured with implementation of the federal Right to Know law, and entered a mid-life crisis post-September 11. The chapter begins with an adaptation of an article from Risk Analysis that describes the organizational genesis of corporate risk communication. After Bhopal, chemical companies voluntarily undertook risk communication to bolster their credibility. Nonetheless, concerns about chemical safety and corporate integrity provided the impetus for Congress to pass a federal Right to Know law to force chemical companies to release information about toxic chemicals. The chapter also provides examples that illustrate the trade offs between information access and security. It explores how government agencies handled one of their major risk communication challenges: risk communication about anthrax. In some instances long-standing relationships on the local level reduced interorganizational communication problems that plagued federal agencies.
