Final Program - Society for Risk Analysis

certainty factors) and comparative potency analysis to crystalline silica with humanrisk estimates also indicated exposure limits below the LOQ. Evaluation of alternativeassumptions did not substantially change these estimates. These findings indicatethe need for more sensitive measurement methods (e.g., CNT count concentrationsusing electron microscopy) and implementation of effective exposure controls toprotect workers from airborne exposure to CNTs.P.76 Kugihara NK; kugihara@hus.osaka-u.ac.jpOsaka UniversityPERCEPTION OF CAUSES OF DEATHS FROM DISEASES, ACCI-DENTS AND SUICIDE IN PERSONS OF YOUNG AND SENIORSThe purpose of this study was to examine subjective probabilities of causes ofdeaths from diseases, from accidents and from suicide. Twelve kinds of diseases (e.g.,stomach cancer, hepatitis, influenza, etc), twelve accidents (e.g., fire, traffic accident,murder, etc), and suicide were listed. Respondents were university students (108 males,average age 20.25; 75 females, average age 20.16) and seniors (73 males, average age69.45; 83 females, average age 67.98). Their targets of estimation were respondentsthemselves, average Japanese of the same sex and of the opposite sex. Respondentswere required to express their estimation as a percentage allowing use of number ofdigits after decimal point. The results were as follows: (1) respondents generally underestimatedmortalities of the diseases, particularly among seniors, (2) on the otherhand, respondents overestimated the deaths from accidents, especially, young peopleexaggerated mortality of the same sex and underrate the deaths probability of theopposite sex, (3) concerning suicide, underestimation, particularly among seniors, wasgenerally observed when the target of estimation was respondents themselves. However,this tendency was not clear among female young peoples. (4) optimistic bias (thetendency for people to report that they are less likely than others to experience negativeevents and more likely than others to experience positive events) was observed insuicide and in diseases, however, this bias was not found in accidents. These resultsappear to reflect respondents’ perceived control about different causes of deaths.M4-B.2 Kuiken T; todd.kuiken@wilsoncenter.orgWoodrow Wilson International Center for ScholarsDIYBIOSAFETY: RESPONSIBLE SCIENCE FOR DO-IT-YOURSELFBIOLOGISTSAbstract: Remember chemistry sets, ham radio, amateur astronomy, and earlycomputing? Well, now it is biology’s turn. Today, over 2,000 people from around theworld belong to the Do-It-Yourself Biology (DIYbio) community, working on designingeverything from microbial fuel cells, low-cost lab equipment, environmentalsurveillance techniques, personal bio-monitoring devices and methods, to new treatmentsfor diseases. The Synthetic Biology Project at the Woodrow Wilson Center ispartnering with DIYbio.org (an organization dedicated to making biology an accessiblepursuit for citizen scientists, amateur biologists and biological engineers whovalue openness and safety), on a project to ensure safety within the rapidly expandingcommunity of amateur biologists. The project will identify relevant biosafety guidanceand work with members of the biosafety community to distill that informationinto user-friendly guidelines. A series of Congresses were held in May and June of2011 bringing together delegates from existing DIYbio regional groups in the U.S.and Europe to collaborate on the development of a draft DIYbio “code of conduct”that may serve as a framework for helping us achieve a vibrant, productive and safeglobal community of DIYbio practitioners, regional groups, and community labs.Preliminary results from the congresses suggest that a voluntary, localized aspirationalcode may be the most suitable type of code for the community based on regions ofthe world, philosophies and missions of each individual group. We will discuss thelatest developments of the aspirational code, biosafety and biosecurity concerns andhow it relates to risk management of this growing amateur community.P.106 Kuttschreuter M, Misana-ter Huurne EFJ; margot.kuttschreuter@utwente.nlUniversity of TwenteEXPLAINING RISK INFORMATION SEEKING: FOOD RISK VERSUSINDUSTRIAL RISKModels to describe the conditions in which people will engage in informationseeking behaviour, and the factors that determine this behaviour, are being put forward.The poster will contrast information seeking behaviour and its determinantsrelated to risks associated with industrial use of hazardous materials, with that relatedto a food risk. In recent years, in Germany improperly manufactured meat productshave been introduced into the food chain (“Gammelfleisch”). These productswhich are hard to recognize by the consumer, form a threat to the individual’s health,and the scandal has received much media attention. To compare information seekingbehaviour and its determinants in the case of this food risk and industrial useof hazardous materials, a survey has been carried out among residents of Germany(n= 161). Subjects were questioned regarding their information seeking behaviour,information sufficiency, affective response, informational subjective norms, risk perceptionand involvement. It was found that the subjects reacted differently to bothsituations. Risk perception and involvement were found to be higher for the foodrisk than for hazardous materials. Nevertheless, in the case of the food risk, individualswere more satisfied with their level of knowledge and less inclined to search forinformation. Regression analysis showed that, for both risks, informational subjectivenorms and affective response were the most important determinants of informationseeking behaviour. Structural equation modeling is applied to test a model, describingthe relationships between the variables, using AMOS. Results will be presented andconsequences for risk communication will be discussed.131