Talking to me? : Risk communication to a diverse public

Abstract: This thesis focuses on the process of communication of environmental risks. A basic assumption in this thesis is that even though ambitious risk communication efforts can take place, the intended recipients are left with a feeling of alienation: Talking to me? The thesis presents a review of theories developed in the field of risk communication research and theories concerning risk perception. Results in this thesis are based on the findings in four papers. The first two papers report results from traditional risk communication strategies that have taken place in Sweden in accordance with the Seveso II Directive. The third paper looks at how industry and organizations view participatory strategies that include stakeholders in risk debates. The fourth paper attempts to fuse together placeidentity and risk perception in order to broaden the understanding of environmental conflicts.The main results of this thesis can be summarized under three headings. First that there is no homogenous public in a risk communication context. Instead there seems to be a number of publics that differ in risk perception or have different environmental concerns. Second, strategies that tend to incorporate parts of the concerned public or stakeholders seem to work better than traditional risk communication efforts. Third, if discussion about risk are to be fruitful, the concept of risk needs to be broadened to include concerns that are not directly or apparently linked to issues of health or safety. Instead concerns such as local culture or local attachment need to be included. The purpose of this thesis is to suggest methods for communicating about environmental risks in order to make the affected public feel: Yes, you are talking to me.