Content

risk assessment

From the fringe

Dandelions, cotton balls and swimming pools: how poor risk communication endangers our health and costs us money, and what we can do about it

Dandelions, cotton balls and swimming pools – what do they have in common? They are all terms used by Australian experts to explain science to the public. A scientific concept such as density might be explained by comparing, say, a piece of glass with a snow-flake. A description of water management might invoke a drop of a dangerous substance in an Olympic-size swimming pool.

Published September 2018 Issue 20
Subscribe to risk assessment