Risk Communication

Abstract

It is rather obvious to start a chapter on risk communication with the question ‘What is communication and what makes it different from information?’ Generally, we consider everything an individual receives through his or her senses as information. The receivers of information are free, considering their needs, knowledge and experiences, to act or not to act on information as pleased. We speak of communication when the information has a symbolic value; it refers to something or has a particular meaning. The presence of a large petrochemical complex in a city diffuses different types of information: visually and olfactory. The sight of such a complex also has a communicative meaning; for some people it may refer to a steady job, for others, the unmistakable sulphur smell indicates nuisance and the threat of some imminent danger. The concept of meaning is two-sided. The reference or symbolic meaning is implemented by the sender of the information, but the receiver of the information also attributes a meaning to the information. The sender can express a particular intention with a message, but the receiver can interpret the message in his or her own manner, which could be quite different from the sender’s intention. This implies communication can have both intended and unintended effects on receivers.