The dissemination of information about nuclear energy and the external emergency plan of the State of Rio de Janeiro, in Angra dos Reis, Brazil

Abstract

The acceptance of nuclear energy and the risk perceived by the public are affected by past accidents with large media repercussion, like Chernobyl (Ukraine, 1986) and Fukushima (Japan, 2011), the first one because of its magnitude and the latter for still being fresh on people’s minds (Visschers & Walquist, 2013; Pineda-Solano et al., 2013). Changing this perception based on shocking accidents can be difficult, but informing the public about nuclear energy and the risks imposed by it to them and to the environment helps reducing the population’s concerns (Koerner, 2014; Visschers & Walquist, 2013; Pineda-Solano et al., 2013). A strategy to cope with public risk perception and achieve a good level of information and preparedness for emergency is risk communication. This paper presents the result of a research with the workers of Education, Science and Technology of Angra dos Reis (SECT), Brazil, that attended a course given by State Civil Defense with the support of SECT and ELETRONUCLEAR. The course aims to diffuse the knowledge about nuclear energy generation and the External Emergency Plan of State of Rio de Janeiro for a nuclear emergency in the Nuclear Power Plant Almirante Ãlvaro Alberto.