Public knowledge and attitudes towards the 60Co incident in Qixian County,Henan Province
10.3760/cma.j.issn.0254-5098.2011.02.006
- VernacularTitle:河南省杞县60Co卡源事件居民认知研究
- Author:
Cuiping LEI
;
Xiaojun CHENG
;
Qinfu ZHANG
;
Quanfu SUN
;
Yinghua FU
;
Caifang CHU
;
Weidong QIN
;
Yanfang ZHAO
;
Hongwei WANG
;
Bingjie ZHANG
;
Shulin DOU
;
Xu SU
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Radiological emergency;
Rumors;
Public perception to radiation;
Risk communicatiOn
- From:
Chinese Journal of Radiological Medicine and Protection
2011;31(2):138-143
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To investigate radiation risk perception and nuclear acceptance after the 60Co stuck source incident in June 2009 in Qixian County,Henan Province.Methods From March to April 2010,23 hamlets and 2 schools from 5 towns in Qixian County were selected,while 3 hamlets and 2 schools from 3 towns were used as control in Huixian County,1 35 km away where no any impact of the incident was found.Face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted among three groups including mass public,elite public(representatives of public opinion,such as physicians,teachers,govemmental officials,administrative personnel,private entrepreneurs),and middie school students(the third grade students in junior middle schools and the first grade students in senior middle schools).Results A total of 1 340 valid questionnaires were collected.The public knowledge levels about radiation and nuclear power were low among all groups in two areas and public knowledge levels in Qixian County were higher than those in Huixian County.In both areas.the knowledge levels of the students were higher tIIan those among the elite public,and that among the general public were the lowest.The knowledge levels of males and those with higher educational levels were higher than those of females and those with lower educational levels.More than 40.0% of the respondents supported the idea to build nuclear power plants in China.but only a small part of them supported to build nuclear power plants in their own areas.The percentages of opponents against local nuclear power plant construction were especially higher among the students and those with higher educational levels.More than 60% of the mass public and elite public believed the explanation of the government.More than 80% of the respondents held negative attitudes towards the performance of the Qixian County Government in dealing with this incident.The student gave the lowest evaluation of the credibility and the specific performance of the local government,whereas the elite public placed themselves between the students and the mass public.The reasons why the local people left their homes to evade risk included rumors(67.2%),lack of radiation knowledge(61.9%),group psychology(59.2%),and failure of the government to inform the truth to the public in time(42.3%).Conclusions The public still fails to know enough about radiation and nuclear power.Although they trust the government,they are dissatisfied with the performance of the local government in dealing with the incident.The negative evaluation of the students is worth concerning.
