Nearly 30 years ago, Environmental Risk-Communication Expert,
Dr. Peter Sandman wrote, “If you make a list of environmental risks in order of how many people they kill each year, then list them again in order of how alarming they are to the general public, the two lists will be very different.”
This is far from an apples-to-apples comparison (different time frame, different countries, subjective search terms, and different issues, to name a few), but they help illustrate Dr. Sandman’s point regarding the number of fatalities associated with an environmental incident as compared to the relative “attention” they received.
- Google search for “Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster” yields 14,700 results. The incident resulted in more than 40 fatalities.
- Google search for “Flint Michigan Water Crisis” yields 6.8 million results. This crisis has not resulted in confirmed fatalities (there are some questions about ties to a death from Legionnaires in Flint).
Risk = Hazard + Outrage
Both tragedies have had tremendous impacts on the local communities, and both involved at least an environmental-risk communication component. In the Lac-Mégantic train derailment, six million litres of petroleum crude were spilled; a fire and explosion followed, which resulted in more than 40 fatalities.
The Flint water crisis involved a series of events and missteps when the City switched their drinking-water supply source from the City of Detroit to the local Flint River (as an interim measure). The resulting elevated lead in drinking water and the bloodstream of the residents has garnered world-wide attention.
In Flint, the extent and magnitude of exposure to lead (especially childhood exposure) may not be fully known for years to come. However, the outrage in Flint is very high.
If you are involved in environmental management and/or managing environmental risks, the relatively easy part is to focus on the hazard;
i.e., regulatory limits and data. But this isn’t typically where you run into the public relation quagmires. Dr. Sandman’s often-used formula provides some insight: Risk = Hazard + Outrage.
“The non-technical side of the risk focuses on everything negative about the situation itself (as opposed to those outcomes). Is it voluntary or coerced, familiar or exotic, dreaded or not dreaded? Are you trustworthy or untrustworthy, responsive or unresponsive? Call all this ‘outrage.’”
When trustworthiness and responsiveness are questioned (e.g., Flint, Michigan), you are at risk of going down a slippery slope; once you begin the decent, it is very difficult to regain your “public relations footing,” as it were.
Avoiding Public Outrage
So how do you avoid unleashing public outrage as it relates to environmental issues? It is not a “once and done” task, such as an assessment of a site, a permit, or even completing a site closure. Avoiding (or even minimizing) outrage requires senior management’s constant attention, at a minimum.
It also requires keeping a pulse on environmental issues, regulatory developments, scientific developments, and generally being proactive. I also believe it requires that you surround yourself with a trusted team of technical advisors who will help you understand potential environmental risks and minimize your “exposure” to public outrage issues.
We take our role as advisors seriously, and this is one of the reasons why we continue to write blogs and articles. Our aim is to provide you timely and useful information so you can keep the hazard + outrage factors as low as possible.
Dragun Environmental Advisors
As you consider your current and future potential needs for environmental advisors, I’ve listed a few of my colleagues below who have extensive “hands-on” experience. And, as always, if you have any specific questions or comments, you can email me directly (ahahn@dragun.com).
Dr. Michael Sklash, P. Eng. (msklash@dragun.com) – Groundwater Contaminant Issues/Expert Services. Mike has 35 years of experience.
Christopher Paré, P.Geo. (cpare@dragun.com) – Environmental Site Assessments/Environmental Remediation. Chris has 25 years of experience.
Andrew Tymec, P. Eng. (atymec@dragun.com) – Environmental Permits/Environmental Remediation. Drew has 9 years of experience.
Andrew Ainslie, M.S., P.Geo. (aainslie@dragun.com) – Environmental Site Assessments. Andrew has 25 years of experience.
Dr. Khaled Chekiri, P. Eng. (kchekiri@dragun.com) – Air Discharge /Vapour Intrusion. Khaled has 25 years of experience.
Clifford Lawton, M.S. (clawton@dragun.com) – Environmental Site Assessments. Cliff has 30 years of experience.
Matthew Schroeder, M.S. (mschroeder@dragun.com) – Environmental Remediation. Matt has 20 years of experience.