Fukushima Media Involvement: Lessons Learned and Challenges
Only days after the Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster on March 11, 2011, the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, or PNNL, found itself in a maelstrom of media attention following announcement of the detection of minute levels of radioactive material originating from the damaged reactors 4,500 miles away. Within days, PNNL had set up a technical team in support of the U.S. government’s efforts to assist the devastated country. While a vast amount of information began to flow from Japan, the situation rapidly evolved challenging PNNL scientists and engineers, as well as news media and the general public to deal with a complex and often conflicting information stream. Over the course of about three weeks, PNNL’s News & Media Relations staff and its scientists and engineers responded to more than one hundred requests for information, and engaged in dozens of personal interviews with international, national, regional and local media. While many of the interviews and resulting stories were accurate and well done, to say that all communication went flawless would be far from the truth. In the midst of chaos and confusion, which are part of any significant crisis, hiccoughs are sure to occur. Even when communications guidelines are established and agreed-to ahead of time, and spokespeople promise to stay on message and within their areas of expertise, there is no guarantee the ball will not be dropped on occasion. Addressed here is “the rest of the story.”
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1111218
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-91910; TRN: US1400348
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Annual Waste Management Symposium (WM2013): International Collaboration and Continuous Improvement, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 24-28 Feb 2013
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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