Interdisciplinary Framework of Risk Communication as an Integral Part of Environmental Risk Analysis in Postindustrial Risk Society: Three Case Studies of the 1999 Amendment of Air Pollution Control Law, Dioxins, and the EMF Risks

Abstract

This paper concerns controversial risk communication issues related to emerging environmental and technological risks in postindustrial risk society. The interdisciplinary risk communication framework is set up to discuss communication issues originating in the high uncertainties and stakes involved in framing and evaluating scientific evidence attached to environmental risk events. Three controversial cases of risk communication – 1) the 1999 Amendment of Air Pollution Control Law, 2) dioxins as endocrine disruptors, and 3) EMF risks – are discussed based on an interdisciplinary risk communication framework focusing on communication issues in terms of “peer review,” “risk characterization,” and “precautionary approach.”