Whom should we trust? Trust yourselves!
- Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States); and others
Members of the public, and their elected officials, often feel at a disadvantage when faced with decisions on technical issues such as those related to low-level radioactive waste management. Many have little or no knowledge of the underlying scientific concepts and often lack a clear understanding of the problems or possible solutions. In the case of controversial, highly emotional topics, facts presented by opposing groups often appear contradictory. People ask, {open_quotes}Whom should we trust?{close_quotes} While advocates of various positions shout, {open_quotes}Trust us!{close_quotes} members of the Ohio State University (OSU) Statewide Low-Level Radioactive Waste Education Program are saying, {open_quotes}Trust yourselves!{close_quotes} The goal of the OSU program is to provide Ohio`s citizens and their elected officials with accurate, easy-to-understand, unbiased information they need to prepare themselves to participate in discussions and decisions related to low-level waste. The faculty members on the project team want to encourage people to learn enough about the topic to feel confident in making their own decisions. For such a program to be successful, however, people must first trust the educational materials they are given. Over the past three years, the OSU team has developed materials that have won wide acceptance. Several factors that appear to have contributed to the acceptance are outlined.
- Research Organization:
- Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States); Williams (Paul) and Associates, Medina, OH (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 229873
- Report Number(s):
- EPRI-TR--105569; CONF-950718--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Ohio`s statewide low-level radioactive waste education program
Public education: Learning to say what we want to say