Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013C00288:reg:7:p1
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013C00288
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 7 (pt 1/2)
Character Range: 1084638–1087588

7                   Risk communication and management
Detailed guidance on risk communication and management is provided in Schedule B8 and the risk assessor needs to be aware of how the risk assessment will be used, as this is an essential step following the conclusion of a risk assessment.

7.1              Risk communication
Risk communication is the process of informing people about potential hazards to their person, property, or community. From the risk management perspective, the purpose of risk communication is to help affected communities understand the processes of risk assessment and management, to form scientifically valid perceptions of the likely hazards, and in some cases to inform decisions about how risk should be managed. There should be a clearly defined functional separation between risk assessment and risk management. In the US, many stakeholders believe that the current process for developing and applying risk assessments lacks credibility and transparency (NRC 2008). Although there does not appear to be specific research on this issue related to contaminated land risk assessment in Australia, the same may well be true.

The investigation, management and remediation of contaminated sites may give rise to a range of community concerns. These may be based on actual or perceived environmental risks and loss of amenity or nuisance. When planning a communication strategy, the factors relevant to the timing and extent of consultation should be identified. The extent of communication will vary, but should include all stakeholders in the vicinity of the site who may be physically affected by the site assessment or remediation or by loss of amenity or nuisance, as well as those who may not be physically affected but have concerns about the contamination (the broader community).

There are a number of underlying principles that should be considered in risk communication. These have been set out in various publications, including Core Values for the Practice of Public Participation (IAP2 2000), and propose that the community be provided with information and the opportunity to input to decisions that may affect their wellbeing. The community should also be advised about the proposed plan for risk communication. Planning for risk communication should therefore commence during the site investigation stage.

The communication plan should be flexible and identify and manage new information as it becomes available and provide ongoing dialogue with the community.

Guidance on risk communication is provided in Schedule B8, and by enHealth (2012a), as well as by state regulators (for example, WA DEC 2006) and international agencies (US EPA 2007c).

7.2              Risk management
One of the key objectives of risk assessment is usually to support a decision about what to do about the contamination present on a site. For effective risk management, it is important that the potential risk management