"How exposed is exposed enough?" - Lay inferences about chemical exposure

The concept of exposure is central to chemical risk assessment and plays an important role in communicating to the public about the potential health r isks of chemicals. Research on chemical risk perception has found some indi cation that the model lay people use to judge chemical exposure differs fro m that of toxicologists, thereby leading to different conclusions about che mical safety. This paper presents the results of a series of studies direct ed toward developing a model for understanding how lay people interpret the concept of chemical exposure. The results indicate that people's beliefs a bout chemical exposure land its risks) are based on two broad categories of inferences. One category of inferences relates to the nature in which cont act with a chemical has taken place, including the amount of a chemical inv olved and its potential health consequences. A second category of inference s about chemical exposure relates to the pragmatics of language interpretat ion, leading to beliefs about the motives and purposes behind chemical risk communication. Risk communicators are encouraged to consider how alternati ve models of exposure and language interpretation can lead to conflicting c onclusions on the part of the public about chemical safety.