Interdisciplinary comparison of expert risk beliefs

There is increasing awareness that discrepancies in risk judgments between experts, in addition to those with the public, are a major difficulty in achieving effective risk communication. A survey was conducted on members of different environmental disciplines to determine the extent to which they share similar beliefs and conceptual frameworks concerning several basic assumptions and concepts in environmental health risk assessment. Results indicate that divergent interpretations do exist among respondents on several issues. Although no sharp distinctions were found among the disciplines, differences of opinion were often apparent within each group indicating that even within a particular disciplinary field, members do not hold consistent views on these issues. In light of the apparent difficulties in evaluating and communicating risk, experts should evaluate their own knowledge and understanding of these concepts and should be fully aware of the strengths and limitations of the methods used for risk assessment.