How to Address Consumers’ Concerns and Information Needs about Emerging Chemical and Microbial Contaminants in Drinking Water: The Case of GenX in The Netherlands

Claassen, Liesbeth; Hartmann, J.; Wuijts, Susanne

doi:10.3390/ijerph182010615

How to Address Consumers’ Concerns and Information Needs about Emerging Chemical and Microbial Contaminants in Drinking Water

Title

How to Address Consumers’ Concerns and Information Needs about Emerging Chemical and Microbial Contaminants in Drinking Water: The Case of GenX in The Netherlands

Author

Claassen, Liesbeth (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM))
Hartmann, J. (TU Delft Sanitary Engineering; Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM))
Wuijts, Susanne (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM); Universiteit Utrecht)

Date

2021

Abstract

The perceived safety of tap water is an important condition for consumers to drink it. Therefore, addressing consumers’ concerns should be included in the roadmap towards the UN SDG 6 on safe drinking water for all. This paper studies consumers’ information needs regarding emerging contaminants in drinking water using a mental model approach for the development of targeted risk communication. As most consumers expect safe drinking water, free of contamination, communication on emerging contaminants may increase concerns. Here, we showed that communication strategies better tailored to consumers’ information needs result in smaller increases in risk perception compared with existing strategies.

Subject

Drinking water
Emerging contaminants
Mental models
Risk communication
Risk perception

To reference this document use:

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:13c66eb4-540c-4d73-a77d-268e6865548d

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010615

ISSN

1660-4601

Source

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (20), 1-17

Part of collection

Institutional Repository