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Papers
20 resultsShowing papers similar to On the Creation of Risk: Framing of Microplastics Risks in Science and Media
ClearTelling stories about (micro)plastic pollution: Media images, public perceptions and social change
This paper examines how microplastic pollution has been framed in media reporting and how the public understands the issue, finding that culturally embedded ideas about risk and health shape people's responses. Understanding media framing and public perception is important for designing effective communication strategies around microplastic contamination.
The influence of media narratives on microplastics risk perception
Researchers examined how media narratives about microplastic pollution influence public risk perception. The study argues that accurate and balanced reporting is essential to prevent misinformation and ensure people clearly understand the risks associated with microplastics. The findings suggest that understanding public perceptions can help design better interventions to reduce plastic consumption and its associated health and environmental impacts.
Framing for action? Assessing microplastic-related threat potential for planetary health as a political participation catalyzer
This study analyzed how microplastic-related threats to planetary health are communicated as a political issue, finding that framing microplastics as a systemic health risk increases public concern and may serve as a catalyst for environmental policy action.
Media Issue Crystallization: The Case of Microplastic in Denmark
This study examined how Danish news media constructed and framed microplastic pollution as an emerging environmental issue, analyzing the process by which a complex scientific problem becomes a public concern. Media framing of microplastics influences public awareness and political action on plastic pollution.
An environmental problem in the making: how media logic molds scientific uncertainty in the production of news about artificial turf in Sweden
Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 journalists, editors, public officials, politicians, industry representatives, and experts in Sweden to examine how media logic shapes news coverage of artificial turf as a microplastic pollutant, finding that media framing conventions drive interpretations of scientific uncertainty and amplify the issue as an environmental problem.
Uncertainty about the risks associated with microplastics among lay and topic-experienced respondents
Researchers surveyed 1,681 respondents globally and found significant uncertainty about microplastic health risks not only among the general public but also among scientists who study plastics, reflecting the genuine knowledge gaps in current research on microplastic hazards.
A Risky Object? How Microplastics Are Represented in the German Media
Analysis of German print media coverage of microplastics from 2012 to 2019 found a shift from framing microplastics as a distant marine problem to a personal health risk, with the discovery of microplastics in human bodies driving increased alarm and calls for precautionary regulatory action.
The scientification of risks and the risks of scientification
This chapter investigates the use of 'scientification' as a discursive strategy in Swedish public debates about microplastics and artificial turf pitches, analyzing how a 2016 report attributing major microplastic emissions to tire wear and turf granules became a contested scientific authority in policy debates. The author examines how scientific uncertainty is mobilized and shaped in public and political discourse around environmental risk.
Communicating scientific uncertainties: Effects of message and audience characteristics in the context of microplastic health risks
Researchers conducted an experiment with over 1,100 participants in Austria to study how communicating scientific uncertainty about microplastic health risks affects public perception. They found that emphasizing a lack of scientific consensus led to lower risk perception and indirectly reduced support for related policies. Framing uncertainty as remaining knowledge gaps rather than disagreement among scientists produced less negative effects on public engagement.
How Are Microplastics Represented in the Korean Media? : An Analysis Based on Reporting Periods, Political Inclinations and Uncertainty
An analysis of 514 South Korean news articles about microplastics from 2018 to 2023 found that media coverage focused heavily on health and environmental risks while rarely acknowledging the scientific uncertainty that still surrounds microplastic hazards. Coverage shifted after a 2021 government anti-plastics policy announcement, moving from problem-framing toward response-framing, with progressive outlets emphasizing regulation and conservative outlets emphasizing research and technology. The study warns that consistent omission of uncertainty in media reporting may suppress public scientific debate and lead to poorly calibrated risk perceptions.
Marine microplastic pollution & misinformation in the public sphere: a systematic review
This systematic review examines how scientific findings about marine microplastic pollution are communicated to the public, identifying gaps where misinformation can take hold. Accurate public understanding of microplastic risks matters because it drives consumer choices and policy decisions that affect human health protection.
Communicating the absence of evidence for microplastics risk: Balancing sensation and reflection
Researchers examined how scientists and health agencies should communicate when evidence for microplastic risk is limited or absent, arguing that "no evidence of harm" does not mean "evidence of no harm." The paper calls for more careful and nuanced science communication to avoid misleading policymakers about the actual state of uncertainty around microplastic health risks.
Exploring public risk perceptions of microplastics: Findings from a cross‐national qualitative interview study among German and Italian citizens
Researchers conducted interviews with citizens in Germany and Italy to understand how ordinary people think about the risks of microplastics. They found that people often transferred their knowledge about large plastic pollution to microplastics, used concepts like accumulation and dose-response to reason about risks, and saw environmental and human health threats as closely connected. The study suggests that public risk perceptions of microplastics are shaped by intuitive reasoning and personal experiences rather than formal scientific knowledge.
Framing pollution
This social science analysis explores how "pollution" — and microplastics specifically — is defined not just by science but by political, economic, and cultural forces. The paper examines different ways of framing microplastic pollution: as a waste management failure, a consumer behavior problem, or an inevitable product of industrial capitalism, each with different implications for who bears responsibility. It argues that understanding the social and political dimensions of microplastic pollution is essential for developing just and effective responses.
Public perceptions of electromagnetic fields and environmental health risks
Researchers surveyed public perceptions of electromagnetic fields and environmental health risks in Ireland using behavioral science methods. While not focused on microplastics, the study provides insights into how the public evaluates environmental health risks, finding that substantial minorities hold concerns even where scientific evidence of harm is lacking.
Addressing the Uncertainties in the Environmental Analysis, Modeling, Source and Risk Assessment of Emerging Contaminants
Despite its title referencing emerging contaminants broadly, this paper is a methodological review of uncertainties in environmental research — covering sampling errors, modeling limitations, and risk assessment gaps across all contaminant types — not a study specifically about microplastics or their health effects. It is not directly relevant to microplastic pollution or human health.
Environmental Risks between Conceptualization and Action
This paper examines how conceptual frameworks for risk can be applied to environmental hazards in the context of population growth, urbanization, and economic expansion. It is relevant to understanding how microplastic risks can be assessed and managed alongside other environmental hazards.
Constitutive and Material: An Empirical Analysis of the Two Dimensions of the Communication on Microplastics in Japanese Journals
This study analyzed how microplastic communication has been framed in Japanese academic journals, examining both content and material dimensions of how science about plastic pollution is produced and shared. The research provides insight into how public understanding of microplastics developed in Japan as a scientific and social concern.
A critical perspective on early communications concerning human health aspects of microplastics
This paper argues that the public debate around microplastics in food has outpaced the actual scientific evidence, which has mainly shown that microplastics are present in certain products without demonstrating specific health effects. The authors point out that food and beverages are likely a minor exposure pathway compared to the plastics we encounter in everyday life through packaging, clothing, and household items. They urge a more balanced discussion that addresses the root causes of plastic pollution rather than focusing narrowly on individual food products.
Microplastics: addressing ecological risk through lessons learned
Researchers reviewed the current state of microplastic ecological risk assessment and proposed applying lessons learned from more established fields of environmental research. The study suggests that despite widespread concern about microplastic pollution, scientific understanding of actual ecological risk remains limited, and future research should follow more rigorous risk assessment frameworks.