Media attention and policy response: 21st century chemical regulation in the USA

Abstract

Abstract This article explores the relationship between media coverage of chemical hazards, scientific understandings of chemical risk, and policy change in the USA at the state level from 1990 to 2010. We observe that media coverage compounded by scientific development, especially in relation to a greater understanding of chemical hazards and approaches to its management, affected public perception of health and environmental risk, aiding in a shift of expectations about necessary levels of statutory protection from the states. We also note the emergence of effective framings of chemical risk around impacts on vulnerable populations, such as children, where media attention and policy action created important coalitions of support. The resulting increased state-, county-, and city-level policy action eventually led to support and momentum policy change at the federal level. This study helps to clarify how media attention to chemical hazards may play an important role in influencing eventual policy responses and risk management approaches.