Is Risk Communication Nothing but Green-Washing?
http://www.stc.org/confproceed/1998/PDFs/00106.PDF

Hart, Hillary
STC Proceedings
1998

Abstract:

Risk-Based Corrective Action (RBCA), a process for cleaning up contaminated sites, is not widely understood. To better communicate with the public about RBCA, a research team sought to measure people’s comfort with the role of risk in decision-making by administering a risk-response survey to inhabitants of two US towns. The survey’s most unusual finding was that people seem more comfortable with environmental risks than with other kinds. Because the survey’s wording probably affected the outcome, the finding raises issues about the responsibility of technical communicators in developing the tools and language of responsible environmental communication.