A Reflection on 'Risk Communication, Metacommunication, and Rhetorical Stases in the Aspen-EPA Superfund Controversy'

摘要

"Risk Communication, Metacommunication, and Rhetorical Stases in the Aspen-EPA Superfund Controversy" (Stratman, Boykin, Holmes, Laufer, & Breen, 1995) came about as a collaborative student-teacher project during an introductory graduate-level course in technical communication. As the instructor of this course, I regularly scan news media for technical controversies, and I had come across Mike McGrath's in-depth news feature article about the ongoing Aspen-EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) lead-waste controversy some months prior to actually teaching the course. Initially, I only planned to create a major group writing assignment around McGrath's and other various materials related to the case that I had gathered. Many aspects of the controversy seemed to call for some type of feasibility proposal evaluating alternative solutions to the complex communication issues involved. As I learned more about the controversy, however, I found that the technical risk, legal, and communication issues were deeply intertwined. Fortunately, the class comprised a bright group of adult students, some of whom had backgrounds in environmental policy, chemistry, and mining, who were eager to investigate the issues. Using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), they proved persistent and creative in unearthing (no pun intended) and retrieving voluminous Smuggler Mountain case files and correspondence from EPA's Region VIII office in Denver.