Nationwide Response Issues After an Improvised Nuclear Device Attack Medical and Public Health Considerations for Neighboring Jurisdictions: Workshop Summary (2014) / Chapter Skim
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6 Risk Communication and Education
6 Risk Communication and Education
Pages 47-56
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From page 47... ...
x Public health and safety officials in outlying communities need training in risk communication around radiation hazards. Because many people are unaware of the extreme implications of an improvised nuclear device (IND)
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From page 48... ...
. The messages being tested had been developed in 2009–2010 by the Radiation Communications Working Group, a federal interagency group of communication and radiation experts who issued an interim document, Nuclear Detonation Preparedness: Communicating in the Immediate Aftermath (Nuclear Detonation Response Communications Working Group, 2010)
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From page 49... ...
On September 11, 2001, after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, people in the twin towers were told to remain in the building, a message that led to more deaths as the towers unexpectedly collapsed. Consequently, New Yorkers are likely to be wary of messages to stay inside their buildings.
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From page 50... ...
For example, after the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, officials delivered conflicting statements about risk. Mixed messages, as well as inadequate messages, were partly responsible for leading an unnecessarily high number of people -- an estimated 150,000 -- to evacuate the area despite radiation doses being below background levels (Talbott et al., 2003)
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From page 51... ...
The second lesson Becker imparted was that risk communicators need to find a way for the public to determine whether text messages, e-mail, and other communications are genuine. During the Fukushima Dai-ichi event there were many hoaxes, including fake e-mails purporting to show dead bodies and e-mails advising what medications could substitute for potassium iodide, which protects the thyroid gland from exposure to radioactive iodine.
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From page 52... ...
x As part of a risk communication strategy for neighboring jurisdictions, it will be crucial to be able to address the concerns and information needs of health care, hospital, and public health staff.
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From page 53... ...
Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the working group is developing a tool for states and localities to map the plume of fallout and advise people where to go to avoid it. A final activity under development is a risk communication tool for state and local authorities to better handle the "worried well," i.e., people with minimal radiation exposure whose health is not threatened but who are concerned about their health.
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From page 54... ...
Citing the complexity of the task facing public information officers, McDonough called for training of public information officers in radiation risk communication, whether in person or by webinar or conference call. He concurred with the CDC's focus group finding that, in the aftermath of an IND attack, members of the public need to know what protective actions they can take in order to give them a sense of empowerment.
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From page 55... ...
Stay tuned," which will reach the public sometime soon to help improve current awareness of the IND threat. Risk communicators can take advantage of important lessons learned from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident in 2011.
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