IDENTIFYING THE FACTORS THAT HEIGHTEN PUBLIC CONCERN OVER OIL SPILLS
Authors: Lowden George 
Published: January 2013

The frequency of significant oil spills is far less than the frequency of other hazards to people, such as crime, automobile accidents, workplace injuries, and disease. When the actual incidence of spills and their relative consequences are considered, the public's generally high level of concern over spills seems somewhat “out of sync” with the many other dangers that appear to be either tolerated by much of the public or receive secondary treatment. The explanation for this seeming discrepancy is that the public's concern over threats to the environment, including oil spills, is not derived simply from estimates of probability and potential harm. Attitudes toward risk are subjective and value-laden, influenced by many qualitative considerations that are not readily captured by quantifying risk (e.g., perceived negligence on the part of corporations, greater degree of concern over unfamiliar risks). This paper identifies the subjective factors that account for the public's high level of concern about environmental threats, particularly oil spills, and offers suggestions on how to address public perceptions.

Now that significant, tangible progress has been made in implementing the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90), industry and government may want to consider turning some attention to the many subjective values that lead the public to be more concerned with oil spills than would seem warranted by the relative risk numbers. Such a risk communication effort admittedly would be difficult to develop and implement, and it is fraught with its own problems. Nonetheless, attempting it may be worthwhile because, even if spill rates continue to decline, the public's concern over the oil spill problem may not be reduced commensurably if certain underlying qualitative factors influencing that perception are not also addressed. These perceptions and expectations are critically important but are often overlooked.

For example, public perceptions influence congressional action, state government initiatives, the opinions of citizen advisory groups, courtroom verdicts and judgments, and more. Today's public perceptions often become tomorrow's reality. To get full value and credit for many years of large expenditures on spill planning, preparedness, and emergency response, oil handlers cannot be satisfied with reducing the size and frequency of spills and mitigating their impacts. Oil handlers need to consider supplementing these efforts, which are of principal importance, with initiatives to provide the public with a more balanced view of the nature of the spill problem and the substantial strides that have been made.

The remainder of this paper is organized in three parts. First, the frequency of significant oil spills in the United States is juxtaposed with the occurrence of other more commonplace hazards to the public, such as robbery or assault. On the basis of these contrasting figures, the hazards that are a part of our daily routine and lifestyle seem large relative to environmental threats such as oil spills. The public's level of concern over oil spills vis-à-vis these other everyday hazards does not seem consistent with the relative frequency of incidents and the severity of consequences. The second part of the paper identifies the many important qualitative factors that influence risk perceptions, and that therefore lead the public to perceive oil spills and other environmental risks with greater concern than would seem warranted by the relative incidence