Irina Sutokskaya
Research Institute of Ecology & Hygiene of Environment
117393 Moscow, ul.Garibaldi, 16-12
RUSSIA
TEL: (095) 133-55-66
FAX: (095) 269-09-29
Information is a powerful weapon, an important economic resource and regulator of social relations. It affects all the dimensions of life of every individual and society in general. In the former Soviet Union, because of the explosive character of environmental information it was kept classified until late 1980s. The advent of eco-Glasnost, however, brought some socio-psychological problems, in particular chemophobia and radiophobia - irrational fear of chemicals and radioactive pollution. Emergence of these phobias is caused by several factors including inadequate scientific information on the impact of chemicals and radiation. Common people are not able to appraise a scale of real danger adequately, their perceptions of environmental danger are formed by mass-media. However, journalists often tend to aggravate the real situation or to change accents to make their articles more impressive. Thus, additional input to the aggravation of chemo- and radiophobia is done.
Agencies and entrepreneurs playing a "green card" in the interests of profits also tend to manipulate environmental information. Meantime, real environmental Glasnost in the democratic society is not simply a right of citizen to be informed on the state of their habitat, but also their right to participate in the formation of environmental policy. For that purpose adequate and precise information should be presented to the citizens by the government, scientific community and mass media.
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