title: Articulating the signs of danger: lay experiences of post-Chernobyl radiation risks and effects.
abstract: This essay examines lay experiences of radiation--the hazard imperceptible with unaided senses--and how these experiences are shaped. Analysis is conducted on the basis of participant observation and interviews in Belarusian rural areas affected after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. I argue that radiation risks and health effects are not always obvious or immediately observable for those experiencing them, and they should be articulated. The paper compares various opportunities for articulation, including the context of radiological testing and administrative contexts, and describes the kinds of articulations they make possible. I conclude that limited opportunities for articulation result in limited lay recognition of radioactive contamination and their own health effects. The analysis implies that affected lay populations cannot always be assumed to be the most risk-conscious and hold special knowledge about radiation effects independently of scientific and administrative definitions of it.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA. okuchins@pitt.edu
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kuchinskaya
mesh_terms: D047852:Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D002094:Republic of Belarus / Q000453:epidemiology; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors