Office rejects Kakadu radiation fears - and questions regarding talking to the media

["Edwards, Richard W" <Richard.Edwards@PSS.Boeing.com>]

I love how people get quoted, misquoted and paraphrased to give a completely different message. Alex, did you really say anything remotely like "inhaling deadly doses of radiation"? I doubt it. I suspect that you were fed a line like "Shouldn't tourists or, at least, regular travelers fear inhaling deadly doses of radiation?" and responding "No, they have no reason for that. The radiation hazards associated with those tailings are very, very small."

Fortunately for me, I'm fairly well isolated from this sort of thing. I get to say "You'll have to talk to the Public Information Office," and let the professional spokespeople deal with the situation. For those of you who are in positions of having to deal with the media, have you found "Communicating with the Media" courses effective? If not, is there another route to controlling how interviews go to prevent or reduce misrepresentation?

Rick Edwards, Analyst
The Boeing Company
richard.w.edwards@boeing.com

> ----------
	Sent by: 	Sandy Perle

> The office's Alex Zapantis says tourists and even regular  travellers 
> along the road have no reason to fear inhaling deadly  doses of 
> radiation. 
> 
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html