How to communicate about radiological risks? a European perspective / Tanja Perko

In this manuscript we first explain, how people understand the concept of radiation, followed by risk perception, how people process the risk related information and we close it with a description of the nowadays common socio-centric approach to risk communication which empowers stakeholders to make an informed decisions. We focus on nuclear emergencies and recovery after a nuclear emergency with a special attention on differences between general population and affected population. We conclude that risk communication should be an arena for discussing the moral values and emotions associated with risks, it should be ethically justified and the communication should be adequately directed to obtain the desired effects. Risk communication should present various options for action with a list of pros and cons in a balanced and nuanced way to leave more room for the decisions of stakeholders. Some societal constraints related to stakeholder involvement process and some selected recommendations to overcome these constraints are presented as identified by the IAEA project CIDER.

13 p.