The EPA banned the word hazard from its own lexicon to calm the public

Evidence

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sanitized its lexicon to neutralize public perception of environmental hazards (Rogers & Kincaid, 1981). In this linguistic cleansing operation, a senior official at the agency banished the word hazard because it is “a trigger word that excites the American public needlessly” (Stiff, 1982). The justification for keeping people uninformed about carcinogens and other toxic chemicals in their environment was to spare them unnecessary uneasiness. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2683 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Regulators deleted the word hazard to keep the public complacent — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2683; Government agencies deliberately sanitize language to suppress public alarm about environmental hazards — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2683

Broader Connections

• Regulators deleted the word hazard to keep the public complacent #expands (0.97) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2683