Decision-makers’ Mental Models of Ecological Issues Associated With Marine Oil Spills: Guidelines for Risk Communication on Chemical Dispersant Use. A. H. Bostrom, Georgia Institute of Technology; P. Fischbeck, Carnegie Mellon University; and A. H. Walker, SEA, Inc.
Chemical dispersant use on marine oil spills has long been controversial. Experts regard chemical dispersants as one of the most effective ways to deal with oil spills, given that they can achieve much greater spill reduction than can mechanical methods of mitigating spills. There remains, however, considerable resistance to use of chemical dispersants. This paper reports on a multiyear study of the mental models of decision makers either responsible for dispersant use decisions or potentially impacted by those decisions. An expert panel was assembled, from which we elicited a network model of the ecological effects of dispersant use on marine oil spills. This model was then used as the basis for extensive mental models interviews, a subsequent survey of decision makers. The research team then designed risk communications to address some of the issues identified in the interviews and surveys. One of these risk communications was evaluated empirically. Risk communication implications of the study process and results will be discussed.
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