Pandemic Planning
Aura’s Principal has direct experience in environmental public health having assisted public health agencies with
their contingency planning around the 2010 Winter Olympics, H1N1, avian flu, and COVID-19.
Aura is able to assist with:
Contingency planning
Risk assessment
Exposure control
Cleaning procedures
Risk Communication and training
Risk communication is process of communicating effectively with people about their risks to their person, property, or community. It is a considered an evidence-based approach that is used in times of high stress, high concern, and controversy.
Aura professionals are experienced in communicating risks in various settings:
Open houses – in environments where the public are invited to learn about a new project in their neighbourhood by walking through displays with access to experts.
Townhalls – when the public are invited to listen to presentations about a new project and ask questions of experts.
Small group sessions – when special interest groups have requested or been invited to participate in a working session to determine next steps in their community.
Joint Occupational Health and Safety (JOHS) committee meetings– when risks need to be conveyed to workers.
Aura staff have experience in various types of risk communication ranging from instances where there is high outrage but low risk, to times where there is virtually no concern but high risk. In all situations, the goal is to convey the real risks using evidence. Our approach is to listen, calmly respond, and to acknowledge the unknowns. Aura staff have worked with public health agencies, utility companies, mining companies, and the film industry. Whatever your risk communication needs, Aura can assist.
Stories from the Field
Aura Principal Industrial Hygienist, Mona, worked with a public utility company that was hoping to build a new substation in a densely populated community that although was in dire need of a new substation, did not want it in their neighbourhood. As the subject matter expert on electric and magnetic fields, Mona participated in small group meetings, open houses, and pop-up tent events in public locations. Mona communicated the real risks associated with the project and helped alleviate community concerns.