Risk Communication: A Handbook for Communicating Environmental, Safety, and Health Risks

The essential handbook for effectively communicating environmental, safety, and health risks, fully revised and updated

Now in its sixth edition, Risk Communication has proven to be a valuable resource for environmental, safety, and health professionals who are tasked with the responsibility of understanding how to apply the most current approaches to communicating risk and debunking misinformation. The sixth edition updates the text with fresh and illustrative examples, lessons learned, and recent research as well as provides advice and guidelines for communicating risk information.

The authors include background information to understand the basic theories and practices of risk communication and explain how to plan an effective strategy and put it into action. The book also contains data on evaluating risk communication efforts and explores how to communicate risk during and after a health or environmental emergency. Risk Communication brings together in one resource proven scientific research with practical, hands–on guidance from risk practitioners with over 30 years of experience in the field. This important guide:

Provides new examples of communication plans in government and industry, the depiction of probability, methods of working with news media, and use of social media Contains a new chapter on partnerships which covers topics such as assigning roles and expectations, ending partnerships, and more Includes information on Americans with Disability Act laws, particularly Sections 504 and 508 that deal with electronic tools Presents real–world case studies with key lessons all risk communicators can apply.

Written for engineers, scientists, professors and students, land use planners, public health practitioners, communication specialists, consultants, and regulators, the revised sixth edition of Risk Communication is the must–have guide for professionals who communicate risks.

Regina E. Lundgren is an independent consultant in risk communication, public involvement, and science and strategic communication. For more than 30 years, she has specialized in communicating environmental, safety, and health risks to lay audiences. You can learn more at her website at http://www.rlriskcom.com.

Andrea H. McMakin is a communication specialist at the U.S. Department of Energy s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington. For more than 30 years, she has directed, taught, advised on, and carried out the communication of scientific, technical, and risk–related information.