Community Perceptions of Dioxins
Post-Interview Questionnaire
Thank you for your participation today. Before we finish, we have one last request. Please complete this
short survey to give us some more of your thoughts, and to help us make sure we are interviewing a broad
sample of the community. Your answers to this survey will also remain confidential.
First, we would like to know about the type of information you have received about dioxins. Please
check the box that best reflects your answer:
1. Have you ever had chemical analyses done of dioxins in soil and/or vegetation on your
property?



Yes, and I received
my results
Yes, but I did not receive
my results
No
2. Have you ever had chemical analyses done of dioxins in dust collected from your home?



Yes, and I received
my results
Yes, but I did not receive
my results
No
3. Have you ever had chemical analyses done of dioxins in your blood?



Yes, and I received
my results
Yes, but I did not receive
my results
No
4. A few years ago, you participated in a research study called the University of Michigan Dioxin
Exposure Study (UMDES). After the study, UMDES sent a brochure of overall study findings
to your household. Do you remember receiving that brochure?


Yes
No
5. How much do you follow the news about dioxins in your community?
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None
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A lot
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Next, we would like to know about how you think your situation compares to others. Please check
the box that best reflects your answer:
6. Compared to other samples from the lower peninsula of Michigan, I believe the level of
dioxins in my soil is:


Well below
average


About
average

Well above
average
7. Compared to other samples from within my community, I believe the level of dioxins in my
soil is:


Well below
average


About
average

Well above
average
8. Compared to other samples from the lower peninsula of Michigan, I believe the level of
dioxins in my house dust is:


Well below
average


About
average

Well above
average
9. Compared to other samples from within my community, I believe the level of dioxins in my
house dust is:


Well below
average


About
average

Well above
average
10. Compared to other adults in the U.S. of similar age to me, I believe the level of dioxins in my
blood is:


Well below
average


About
average

Well above
average
11. Compared to other adults in my community of similar age to me, I believe the level of dioxins
in my blood is:

Well below
average
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About
average


Well above
average
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Next, we would like to ask a few questions about your level of concern about dioxins. Please check
the box that best reflects your answer:
12. How concerned are you about your own exposure and your family’s exposure to dioxins?




Not at all

Extremely
13. How concerned are you about your community’s exposure to dioxin?



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Not at all

Extremely
14. How concerned are you about the economic risks posed by dioxins to your community?




Not at all

Extremely
15. How concerned are you about the economic risks posed by dioxins to you and your family?




Not at all

Extremely
16. How concerned are you about the risk to your personal health, and to your family’s health
from dioxins?




Not at all

Extremely
17. How concerned are you about the risk to your community’s health from dioxins?




Not at all

Extremely
Next, we would like to know how you feel about the information you’ve received about dioxins.
Please check the box that best reflects your answer:
18. I have a clear feeling about the risks that dioxins pose to my community’s health.
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Disagree
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Agree
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19. I have a clear feeling about the risks that dioxins pose to my personal health and my family’s
health.
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


Disagree

Agree
20. I am satisfied with the information I have received about dioxins.




Disagree

Agree
21. I feel well informed about dioxins in general.
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


Disagree

Agree
22. I feel well informed about the risks that dioxins pose to my health and to my family’s health.
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


Disagree

Agree
23. I feel well informed about the risks that dioxins pose to my community’s health.
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


Disagree

Agree
24. I feel well informed about the economic risks that dioxins pose to my community.




Disagree

Agree
25. I feel well informed about the economic risks that dioxins pose to me and my family.




Disagree

Agree
26. I have gotten enough information about dioxins.
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Disagree

Agree
27. I have understood the information I’ve gotten about dioxins.
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Disagree
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Agree
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28. The information I’ve gotten about dioxins has been confusing to me.
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
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Disagree

Agree
29. I believe the information I’ve gotten about dioxins has been accurate.




Disagree

Agree
30. I believe the information I've gotten about dioxins has reasonably represented what is known
about dioxins.
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


Disagree

Agree
31. I believe the information I've gotten about dioxins has been biased.




Disagree

Agree
Next, we have a few questions related to how you feel about industry. For each of the following
questions, please check the box that best reflects your answer:
32. I am concerned about health and safety risks from industry in my community.




Disagree

Agree
33. Local industry provides benefits that are important to my community.



Disagree


Agree
34. The current balance of benefits and risks from industry in my community is…
 Benefits outweigh risks
 Benefits and risks are roughly equal
 Risks outweigh benefits
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Next, we have a few questions related to how you feel about government. For each of the following
questions, please check the box that best reflects your answer:
35. How much of the time do you trust the federal, state and/or local government to do what is
right?





Never
Always
36. Some people think criticism of the way the federal, state and/or local government does its job
is justified, while others think the government often does a better job than it is given credit for.
Which comes closer to your views?




Criticism is
justified

Government
does a better job
than its given
credit for
37. In general, do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Government has gone too
far in regulating business and interfering with the free enterprise system?





Disagree
Agree
38. How much of a problem, if at all, is government corruption today?



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Not at all
a problem

Very much
a problem
Finally, we would like to ask some questions related to how you feel about numbers. Please check
the box that best reflects your answer:
39. How good are you at working with fractions?

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Not at all good

Extremely good
40. How good are you at working with percentages?
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Not at all good

Extremely good
41. How good are you at calculating a 15% tip?
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Not at all good
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Extremely good
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42. How good are you at figuring out how much a shirt will cost if it is 25% off?
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Not at all good

Extremely good
43. When reading the newspaper, how helpful do you find tables and graphs that are parts of a
story?
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
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Not at all helpful

Extremely helpful
44. When people tell you the chance of something happening, do you prefer that they use words
("it rarely happens") or numbers ("there's a 1% chance")?
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


Always prefer
words

Always prefer
numbers
45. When you hear a weather forecast, do you prefer predictions using percentages (e.g., “there
will be a 20% chance of rain today”) or predictions using only words (e.g., “there is a small
chance of rain today”)?
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


Always prefer
percentages

Always prefer
numbers
46. How often do you find numerical information to be useful?


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Never


Very often
Demographic Information
47. Age: ______
48. Gender
 Male
 Female
49. Ethnicity
 Hispanic or Latino
 Not Hispanic or Latino
50. Race (Check all that apply)
 American Indian or Alaska Native
 Asian
 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
 Black or African American
 White
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51. Highest level of school
 Some high school
 High school diploma or GED
 Some college, associates degree, professional training
 Bachelor’s degree (BA, BS)
 Master’s degree (MA, MBA)
 Professional school degree (MD, JD, DDS)
 Doctoral degree (PhD, EdD)
52. How long have you lived in your current house?
 Less than 1 year
 1-5 years
 6-15 years
 16+ years
53. Do you have any children?
 Yes
 No
If so, what are their ages? (Check all that apply)
 0-2 years
 3-5 years
 6-10 years
 11-15 years
 16-18 years
 Over 18 years
54. Have you ever worked at a chemical company?
 Yes
 No
If so, what type of work did you do there? (Check all that apply)
 Maintenance/repair/contractor
 Management
 Office or administrative support (e.g. customer service, clerical)
 Production (e.g. assembly, inspection, packaging, processing, quality)
 Professional (e.g. scientist, engineer, computer specialist)
 Sales
 Transportation (e.g. shipping, driving)
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