Patty's Industrial Hygiene, Hazard Recognition. Группа авторов

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RISK COMMUNICATION

      DAVID M. ZALK PH.D. CIH

1 INTRODUCTION

      Risk communication in the occupational setting is most often associated with emergency preparedness and response, communication to the public, and within and between responders to a potential crisis situation. In the industrial hygiene profession (IH), risk communication is most important in discussions with workers. However, communicating risks in a language that workers understand can be a difficult expectation, especially when this skillset is not an essential component within the training curriculum of field practitioners. Learning how to communicate risk with workers is probably the most important lesson for field practitioners to learn if the end goal is to achieve recognition, control, and prevention of workplace hazards over the long term. It is over time that the chronic exposure‐related diseases develop, so ingraining the inherent workplace risks to the workforce is an essential component of risk assessment outcomes and risk management practices as a whole. It is also important for an IH to learn how to communicate within and between their environment, health, and safety (EHS) peers as well, for if the comprehensive workplace risks and necessary preventative measures cannot be understood between safety, health, and environmental professionals, then they cannot be fully understood by workers either. This is especially true for the current trend of EHS Generalist professionals. EHS Generalists need to understand for themselves where and how the relative risks for each of the individual EHS disciplines interact and are prioritized for a given task or process. However, this essential need for professionals requiring a multidisciplinary mindset is yet another underserved component of risk communication that needs to be addressed. As the concept of risk is understood differently depending on the listening and message receiving audience, the methods to communicate risk to managers and even into corporate board rooms also becomes a critical, yet limited, point of discussion, and teaching. Collectively, this holistic mindset can be considered as a process for directional risk communication for stakeholders; the understanding of how to communicate at the worker level, the interdisciplinary level, and to upper management. To accomplish this, it is important to develop a single, simplified form for communicating risk. By doing so, everyone who is a necessary partner for the field practitioners to accomplish their goals can speak a standardized language. This helps to ensure that all those listening can understand the risks being communicated and comprehend what their roles and responsibilities are to ensure these workplace risks are minimized or eliminated.

      1.1 Defining Risk

Defining the terms, we will be working with will assist in creating a solid foundation for building a standardized language for communicating risk throughout the workplace. Risk is often defined as the probability that harm may occur and hazards are considered to be anything that may cause this harm. Risk is a term that may be applied in many different contexts within the EHS professions, however, its definition is viewed more broadly across the society at large. Our values are what we might potentially lose when we are exposed to risk. Economics, societal position, as well as emotional and physical well‐being, are all categorical values that we share. These values can be improved or lessened based on the risks we choose to either take, decide not to, or forced into accepting either actively or passively. Judgments on accepting risk, which fit well within EHS discussions, are most often based on risk as a function of severity and probability. We take on a relatively high risk of compromising physical health and potential financial loss every time we get into an automobile, but it is apparent that society either perceives this risk vs. benefit decision differently or perhaps does not fully understand the relative risks in making that choice (1). Work‐related decisions about risk are often considered a product of the severity of a given hazard and the probability that an adverse outcome will occur. It is the role of EHS professionals to identify, assess, control, and manage these risks feasibly. This may be a bit more complicated for some hazards that may affect each of the EHS professions differently. For example, a chemical exposure hazard might lead to acute or chronic illnesses, be a source of pollution, and may also degrade the quality of a safety system in the workplace.

      1.2 Communicating Risk

      Just as the definition of risk can pertain to personal wealth, physical health, emotional health, or even one's status in society, the methods used to communicate this information to others may also vary. The true value of risk communication is when this real‐time, two‐way exchange of information creates a meaningful and accurate exchange of information that enables those at risk to make informed decisions to avoid or minimize potential adverse outcomes (2). Risk communication becomes a valuable component of risk management, integrating the assessment of risk and potential exposure that is just as necessary for investing in the stock market as it is in the workplace. This value is maximized when the exchange of information targets the right stakeholders, where the dialog being communicated emphasizes both the importance of risk management and need for an ongoing monitoring of the risks presented . A common issue for communicating risk lies in determining the correct method in making the risk understandable and relatable to other relative risks while retaining the respect of those receiving the information. Risk communicators must also take into account another compounding factor for this issue; the culture of those receiving the message may have their own inherent fears and understanding of the risks presented. For example, a professional may communicate specific risks to potential radiation exposures really well, but there may be audience members that have already concluded that no level of radioactive exposures can ever be safe. This may complicate the role of EHS professionals communicating risk as these potential biases need to be understood and considered but may be difficult to address. In addition, accounting for these issues may be at a local level, as in the safety culture of a workplace, or perhaps at the regional level when implementing risk management programs in different countries worldwide.

      1.3 Emergency Response

      Risk communication, as it relates to occupational and environmental considerations, is primarily focused on the scientific literature and through governmental institutions on the topic of emergency response. Serious emergency response parameters like radiological or biological terrorism, chemical plant releases or explosions, or infectious disease issues are all situations where sound and practical risk communication to the right target audiences is essential to ensure potential issues are not compounded. The offering of timely and accurate objective and impartial data provides great assistance to those managing the process, confidence to the affected communities, and can aid in achieving a coordinated and effective emergency response (6). One method used to better understand the risk perception of a given audience relating to potential emergency or crisis situations and improve the development of communication strategies is known as the deliberative decision‐making process (4). Creating an open dialog between government institutions, experts, and the public is an excellent strategy for initiating preventative steps toward adapting the right information to the appropriate audience in a timely and consistent fashion. In an era of immediate and broadly spread media accessibility, understanding this process and information it provides is especially important for EHS professionals. It can assist in developing a keen understanding of how to provide consistent and clear risk communication in the workplace using methods that are just as important for terrorism responses as they are for environmental policy and nanotechnology risks (4, 7, 8). As there is no singular strategy or process for risk communication effectiveness, understanding the complexity in how delivering the necessary information, as well as the message itself, can be affected by both the communicator and the receiver of information.

2 EHS ROLES IN RISK COMMUNICATION

Emergency response can certainly be an important component of the roles and responsibilities of EHS professionals, both as an active participant and in development of plans and programs. However, when it comes to the day‐to‐day СКАЧАТЬ