Risk communication and community right to know: A public relations obligation to inform

Risk communication and community right to know are increasingly important functions of public relations within communities that face a considerable amount of health, safety and environmental risk related to chemical manufacturing. Following Susan G. Hadden’s (1989) claim that community right to know is not only a legal subject but a powerful approach to risk communication and by extension public relations, this research project analyzed, through an ethnographic case study of participant observations (n=193 days), interviews (n=27) and focus groups (n=15), how community residents perceive and construct their awareness and understanding of significant federally mandated and industry initiated community-right-to-know initiatives within risk communication. Findings include a general lack of awareness and understanding of community-right-to-know programs and risk management protocols, with differences among communities, cultures and genders, and the social justification of risks via narratives.