Our health and their health

As designers knowing what impacts our products have in the environment is sometimes not enough. There are some impacts they take place in the customers´ health as well and it´s something we cannot forget about.

The health impacts has two main issues: the risk assestment itself and the communication of it.

First of all the risk, there are two ways of knowing it: with direct knowledge or extrapolating it (using animals and models, among others). Once known, it is important to have data based information, and that´s why some organizations such as WHO, OECD or EPA exist. 

Once the risk is known, the complex part arrives: the comunication. The most important issue is to know who the audience is and say the same things in the most appropiate way for them, Independently of the audience and the way of saying the same thing, the most important thing is to be allways honest. 

A lot of phsycology is needed, no underestimations, no overestimations neither prejuicies for crystal clear risk communication. Never forget that we are not talking to machines that record, we are talking to people with feelings and fears behind this screens.

One useful tip to end and think:

"Some remedies might be worse that the disease".