Question

Case-study: Proposed New Airport Runway for the Axe Stream Heights International Airport

Author: Ewan MacFarlane

Scenario (2b): In the past two months, members of the local community protest group, PEEPS, have continued to collect case-reports of illnesses attributed to close residential proximity to the airport. They now claim they have ‘uncovered’ a ‘cluster’ of 13 cases of cancer which they say are caused by exposure to pollutants and/or noise from the airport. Dr McGrimace and Ms Lightbody have reviewed these cases but can’t agree whether or not these cases actually are ‘disease cluster’ and/or if living near the airport is the cause. PEEPS has turned to you for advice.

Questions for discussion:

2b.2 ‘Disease cluster’ communication

Q: 1 Public communication and stakeholder involvement is particularly important when following-up a ‘disease cluster’ – how would you involve the public and stakeholders in this ‘cluster investigation’?

Q: 2 What principles of risk communication are relevant here and how would you ‘operationalise’ them in a situation like this?

Q: 3What can be the consequences of poor stakeholder/public communication in a situation like this?What are some real examples of ‘botched’ public/stakeholder communication in past cluster investigations and/or other environmental health crises? What went wrong and why? What was done to remedy the situation and did it work?

Answer 1

Question 1: involvement of public communication and stakeholders in this matter

Ans: Cluster disease is nothing but the unusually large number people getting sickened by a disease in certain place and time such as cancer, birth defects and other chronic illness in above case, PEEPS members collected case reports of illness attributes to the airport and claimed that they have uncovered a cluster of cases of cancer which they says caused by exposure to pollutants and /or noise from a airport.

To involve public communications and stake holder to followup in this disease cluster we must have some strategy with us to divert the attention of such authorities and public towards this concern. To execute this plan

1. We must have communication with the respective personnel and make them awaire about the situation happening at the place.

2. Considering the extent of seriousness and urgency of investigation we must convince the stakeholders to involve in matter.

3. For this we must present the collective data of surveys and case studies with statistical and graphical representations so as to grab the attention of responsible authorities and public.

4. We can provide supportive documents and fillings to the legal authorities to involve the supportive measures and take legal action to resolve the issue.

5. To involve such authorities in the loop we must firstly identify and segregate authorities which need to be contacted for this purpose.

6. Decide the strategy and execute the same to knvokev mass media in to the matter so that public support will come out for Nobel cause.

7.we must ensure accurate and timely information would be shared on topics to public aware and they get centrally attracted to support for the protest.

Q2.

Ans:

To operationalize the principles risk communication we must know the following are the five most serious mistakes an organization can make in their communications with stakeholders:
1. Inadequate accessibility.
2. Lack of understandability .
3. Dullness, lack of energy in the response.
4. Problems with timeliness (too little, too late).
5. Perceptions of arrogance (stakeholders are not valued).

Following Methods of risk communication can be used to communicate to stakeholders:
● Designated Web page for partners

●Telephone call from management or management representative

● Specific backgrounders and periodic updates.

Q3 Ans:

Some consequences that might be considered with stakeholders perspective are

1. Larger employment to the near by public.

2. Reservation of fly zones with government authorities.

3. Stakeholder may denie the possibility of health issues are due to pollution of airport and noise.

4. Public communication might ask for the scientific justification of the case study conclusions that the cancer causing reson is airport factors only or some other are also involved ii it.

5.To resolve the issue we must have intermediate ways to provide Justice to the protesting members as well as we should work on to the cluster causing factors which could be avoidable or controlable in future.

6. We should conduct Scientific research for the cluster causing factors and found remedy to the situations till then we must have either intermediate the necessary action or relocate the affected population.