Radiation Attack Exposes Hole in Homeland Security

News coverage of the radiation poisoning death of Alexander Litvinenko highlights a critical hole in homeland security: public understanding of radiation and its health effects. On news blogs, one sees evidence of widespread public confusion about radiation and government’s response. The misunderstandings reflect the absence of a public education program and, also, the inadequacy of public information provided by official and non-official sources. Government representatives and news reporters on both sides of the ocean have erred often in communicating technical information and specifics of the incident. Increasing public reliance on the world-wide web for information, where differences in terminology and slang add to the confusion, adds to the difficulty of communicating clearly.

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