Bisphenol-A: The Study of Public Awareness and Risk Perception

Abstract

The following aimed to investigate how the British public perceive the risk
of Bisphenol-A, a behavioural altering, hormone mimicking chemical used
as a components in numbers plastics. The study was carried out within the
campus of the University of Central Lancashire, using the culturally and
demographically diverse student population to sample the British public.
Questionnaires were used to critically asses the participants view points on
various social, cultural, and risk related topics in order to deduce the risk
perceived by the general public. The results showed that a small percentage
of the participants were aware of the chemical, with an even smaller
amount wary of its medical implications. Risk perceptions are key in
building strong governmental policy schemes, the British government
cannot afford another BSE crisis, thus studies like these are crucial in asses
the perceived risk of certain ‘hidden hazards’.