Comments,

We'll do a module on Risk Communications and cover some of these items again.

• Relations with the PR staff and public.

Your company's Public Affairs or Public Relations department is usually staffed by English majors. They have never studied science at any real depth. They will take what the engineers and scientists give them and try to translate it into something the public will understand, and that meets the company's goals. All too often, engineers get their hands slapped for making statements that are technically correct, but liable to misinterpretation. Then the engineers avoid the process and the PR staff makes statements that are technically incorrect. There needs to be an iteration between the PR staff and the technical people. Here's an example, the engineer said:

"From time to time in the manufacture and use of this item, releases of vapor-phase [chemical] have occurred. Mostly this is in maintenance cleaning of fouled ethanol process equipment. Because of the location of the plant, the amount of the releases, and the configuration of the vents, there is no credible likelihood that the public was exposed to organized plumes of vapors in concentrations even approaching toxic levels found inside the plant."

Here's how it come back from an obnoxious reporter:

"Mr. Engineer, could they have been exposed to unorganized plumes?" Or, "Was there an incredible likelihood the public was exposed? "

The PR staff will usually write a press release that has facts and data, but is still readable, that will be given to the press. That minimizes the chance that facts are incorrectly placed in the press. These releases need to be carefully reviewed by the technical staff (that's you) before they are released.

• Engineering writing, leaving things out.

Engineers and scientists are notorious for writing things and leaving out thoughts. We "know what we mean," so when writing, we leave out thoughts. These are very hard to detect by us, because when we reread our work, we subconsciously fill in the missing thoughts. This often comes out in the antecedents to pronouns, including "that" and "which." We know what they refer to, while a reader who is not familiar with the subject will believe they refer to thought that is closest in the written text.

• Explaining obvious

It's important in any writing to know your audience. Here is an important point, when your audience is the public. Most highly educated people are accustomed to hearing words and concepts they are not familiar with. They may regard this as a challenge to learn what the words mean, or gloss over them. Less well educated people, on the other hand, can be offended if they are presented material that has unfamiliar words and concepts, especially if the words or concepts are presented in a manner indicating they should know what they mean. They sometimes become angry or quickly stop reading or listening. If you are presenting material to a public that is hostile or doesn't trust you, especially if they are making a effort to listen to your message (if only to argue with you), they are likely to become very angry. You believe you are trying to be technically correct; they think you are trying to muddy the waters and confuse people. So, when in doubt, always present the material is the simplest way, and explain, at least the first time, the meaning of words that the public might not be aware of, even if you feel most of the audience knows what the terms mean.