Communication of radiation benefits and risks in decision making: some lessons learned

• Published in: Health physics (1958) Vol. 101; no. 5; p. 626
• Main Author: Locke, Paul A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.11.2011
• Subjects: Communication; Decision Making; Humans; Knowledge; Public Health; Radiation Monitoring; Radiation Protection - legislation & jurisprudence; Radiation Protection - methods; Radiation Protection - standards; Radioactive Hazard Release - legislation & jurisprudence; Radioactive Hazard Release - prevention & control; Risk Assessment - legislation & jurisprudence; Risk Assessment - methods; Risk Assessment - standards; Safety Management - legislation & jurisprudence; Safety Management - methods; Safety Management - standards; United States; United States Government Agencies; United States
• ISSN: 1538-5159
• DOI: 10.1097/HP.0b013e3182299539

This paper is focused on summarizing the "lessons learned" from discussions at the 2010 NCRP Annual Meeting on effective communications on the subject of radiation benefits and risks in public exposures. Five main lessons learned are discussed in regard to effective methods of public communication: the use of new social media communication tools such as Facebook and Twitter, emergency situations that require rapid societal and personal messaging, medical radiological procedures where benefits must be described in comparison to long-term health risks of radiation exposures, and information that should be provided to stakeholders in situations such as environmental radionuclide contamination to which members of the public may be exposed. It is concluded that effective communications in which radiation benefits are contrasted with health risks of exposure are an important aspect of making and implementing decisions on employing radiation health protection procedures.