Risk communication for environmental health hazards

Starting with the analysis of communication problems in the field of therap eutical and environmental risks the special requirements and challenges of communicating environmental health risks will be outlined. Important proble ms of this type of risk communication include: (1)The political context whi ch imposes a new role structure upon the doctor and the people involved, (2 ) the special importance of credibility of scientific statements, given the limited understanding of health risks related to the environment, and (3) the strong emotional component and therefore the conflict-proneness of comm unication.