Risk/Crisis Communication

Chapter 3 - Laws that Mandate...

This reading was another solid general information piece that I’m sure I will have to deal with some day. I read it as more of a preparatory guide on what we may have to deal with because a number of the examples came with the caveat that on needs to check with state, local and organization rulings on how these rules and acts on the organizations communication.

I appreciated the inclusion of the timeline example (3.1) because it conveyed the complexity of a communications campaign that has to deal with possibly unpleasant issues. A lot of discussion and communication with the community is obviously needed.

It brings to mind the difficult issues surrounding the clean-up of the Koppers Superfund site (Koppers site) that was in the news in the fall of last year. Besides the U.S. Government, it centers on a chemical used in treating lumber that has contaminated the groundwater at 75 times the level accepted by state regulations. GRU brought the issue to light when some monitoring wells were drilled and have called upon Beazer East, which briefly owned the site and is responsible for clean-up.

The rat’s nest I see is that one side is stating that there is no evidence that the pollution is moving towards GRUs wells and that action would be premature, but GRU and others state that there is good evidence that the contamination is moving.

I was a little surprised when the diagram explained that the process could take up to eight years. If you’re on the communications team, that’s some pretty good job security. This one actually began in 1983 (yes, more than 20 years ago). The ROD was signed in 1990, there was a five year review in 2000, and the issue is still, amazingly, in the news as of 2006.

The readings didn’t prepare me for this, and I’m thankful that I was not working for Beazer East in the last 20 years. What I did appreciate about the readings is how much they helped me understand a lot of the terminology, documents and how they were used as I researched this issue more closely. It involves CERCLA, the ROD, and all the documents are available online at epa.gov.

I especially appreciated the terminology. I will be much more aware of it when I hear it outside of the classroom. I was surprised they didn’t cover HIPAA at all, which everyone that works in a healthcare. It is something that applies to so many people and can have dire consequences if ignored or overlooked.

To switch gears, the largest crises are those that affect the greatest number of people. No wonder there is such a tangled mess of laws that pertain to the environment. While I hadn’t considered it before, chapter three clarified another way that a practitioner needs to know their organization “inside and out.” All orgs. need a communication plan and a crisis plan in place, but for anyone that is involved in communications especially, the applicability of the law falls directly on them as the spokesperson for the company.

It could take years to understand all the laws that affect an organization. It’s worth it, though, if it keeps the organization out of years litigation.