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Epidemiology:
July 2004 - Volume 15 - Issue 4 - p S198
The Sixteenth Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE): Abstracts

How Safe Is It To Live Here? Lapses in Risk Communication, Precaution, Research and Response and Their Consequences for Local Community Trust in the Aftermath of the World Trade Center Disaster

Edelstein, Michael; Hughes, Catherine McVay; Thurston, George

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*Ramapo College of New Jersey; †Community Board One; ‡Nelson School of Environmental Medicine

ISEE-504

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Abstract:

As with many other complex modern disasters, the destruction of the World Trade Center created a major demand to provide guidance to a public desperate for any information that would help answer questions about threat and safety. Accordingly, what did policy makers and scientists say to the public over time to define the continuing environmental threats and shape protective responses; how were these statements heard by affected publics, and to what extent were secondary threats (i.e., threats of harm beyond the immediate destruction of the towers) mitigated effectively as a result? Focusing particularly on the residential public of Lower Manhattan, this paper examines the limits in response to the disaster to date, pointing to necessary steps to regain public trust and assure future precaution. In particular, it is shown that significant lapses in risk communication/policy development were encountered with this disaster.

© 2004 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

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