Risk Communications
Comparative Risk Assessment
There is a minefield that I want to encourage you avoid, but you need to know something about it. In the Risk booklet page 33 - 37 , Evolving Efforts to Compare and Rank Risks, has material on Comparative Risk Assessment. I suggest you read this brief chapter. But remember, it was written by the Chemical Manufactures Association, not Greenpeace. For a resource, here is web site with more details, but you don't need these for this course. CRA
Here are some examples of comparative risk assessment. (After Wilson, R.)
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Common Activities that increase the Risk of Death, Injury
and Illness by one in a million
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Activity
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Cause of Death
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| Smoking 1.4 cigarettes | Lung cancer, heart disease |
| Spending 1 hour in a coal mine | Black lung disease |
| Flying 6000 miles in a jet airplane | Cancer from cosmic radiation |
| Having one chest x-ray | Cancer from radiation |
| Living 2 months with a cigarette smoker | Cancer, heart disease |
| Eating 100 charcoal-broiled steaks | Cancer |
| Eating 40 tablespoons of peanut butter | Liver cancer from aflatoxin |
When the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant melted, it release radiation. The plant's risk managers evaluated the resulting exposure and told the public that, at worst, they only received the same amount of radiation as "three chest x-rays." Do you think this this soothed the residents? If you have digested some of Sandman's material from the previous page, you should realize why such an attitude only gets people madder than they were. Try to think of three reasons they might get madder. You might think of more. The PRP may feel the public is ridiculous for being concerned if "the risk from PCBs on the site that is no worse than 4 tablespoons of peanut butter," but the public will not be persuaded by this line of reasoning. End of Submodule 12B.