The Radiation Unit is Difficult for the General Public to Understand - An Easier Alternative Unit is Required - 17223

Conference · Sat Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2017

OSTI ID:22794607

Kang, Kidoo; Weon, Yuho ^[1]

---

1. Central Research Institute, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (Korea, Republic of)

One of the difficult things to explain about nuclear power and/or radiation to the public is the 'radiation unit'. Especially after the Fukushima accident, many people are concerned about radiation, but over 70% of public who responded to the survey do not understand what the Bq (Becquerel) refers to. Changing the SI unit (International System of Units) is not easy, and instead, auxiliary units can be used. We considered several auxiliary units: one using an index number (like that for earthquakes), one that makes a comparison to general drug risk, one that makes a comparison to an amount of foodstuff (like BED), an introducing index comparing annual dose limit, using number compared to the background, and colorizing (i.e, red, green, blue). KHNP-CRI surveyed the public about radiation and radiation unit indexes to determine which was easiest to understand. For the question 'Do you know what the radiation unit Becquerel (Bq) is?', over 70% answered 'No'. When asked,'Do you think radioactivity is contagious and can be transmitted through a person's respiratory system or via skin contact?', over 47% answered 'It is definitely or possibly contagious'. When asked, 'Which would you prefer as an easier to understand radiation auxiliary unit, if it were to be changed?', over 70% preferred 'colorizing or figure'. It is interesting that men prefer figures whereas women prefer colorizing. The sample population of the survey was 500 adult men and women in Korea. The sampling error was based on random sampling, a confidence interval of 95%, and a standard maximum allowable sampling error of ± 4.4% point. The survey method was 'Computer Aided Telephone Interview' (CATI). (authors)

• Research Organization: WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22794607
• Report Number(s): INIS-US--19-WM-17223
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
DOSE LIMITS
FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER STATION
RADIATION DOSE UNITS
RADIOACTIVITY
REACTOR ACCIDENTS