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Medical and psychological aspects of crisis management during a nuclear accident

Abstract

Crisis handling in most kinds of disasters is affected by e.g. the information situation, prior experience and preparedness, availability of resources, efficiency of leadership and coordination, and type of disaster. A nuclear accident creates a situation which differs from many `normal` disasters and natural catastrophes, for example with respects to the invisible nature of radiation and radioactive contamination and thus the dependence on access to specific technical equipment and expertise, and to information about the radiation situation. The scope of the accident, and the existing levels of radiation, define subsequent actions; information policies and existing channels of communication lay the foundation for public reactions. The present paper explores some examples of public reactions, and crisis handling of some previous radiation accidents on the basis of two dimensions, i.e. degree of information availability and degree of impact or `environmental damage`. The examples include the radiation accidents in the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals, at Three Mile Island, USA, at Chernobyl in the Ukraine, and in Goiania, Brazil. It is concluded that public reactions differ as a function of existing expectations, and the crisis handling is more affected by the existing organizational and social structures than by needs and reactions of  More>>
Publication Date:
Jun 01, 1993
Product Type:
Technical Report
Report Number:
HHS-CFR-B-10
Reference Number:
SCA: 220900; 054000; PA: AIX-26:042605; EDB-95:069706; ERA-20:015598; NTS-95:022044; SN: 95001382400
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Jun 1993
Subject:
22 NUCLEAR REACTOR TECHNOLOGY; 05 NUCLEAR FUELS; RADIATION ACCIDENTS; PUBLIC INFORMATION; REACTOR ACCIDENTS; ATTITUDES; MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE; PUBLIC ANXIETY; PUBLIC OPINION; PUBLIC RELATIONS; RADIATION HAZARDS; EMERGENCY PLANS
OSTI ID:
39714
Research Organizations:
Stockholm School of Economics (Sweden). Center for Risk Research
Country of Origin:
Sweden
Language:
English
Other Identifying Numbers:
Other: ON: DE95627109; TRN: SE9500043042605
Availability:
INIS; OSTI as DE95627109
Submitting Site:
SWDN
Size:
18 p.
Announcement Date:
May 17, 1995

Citation Formats

Drottz-Sjoeberg, B M. Medical and psychological aspects of crisis management during a nuclear accident. Sweden: N. p., 1993. Web.
Drottz-Sjoeberg, B M. Medical and psychological aspects of crisis management during a nuclear accident. Sweden.
Drottz-Sjoeberg, B M. 1993. "Medical and psychological aspects of crisis management during a nuclear accident." Sweden.
@misc{etde_39714,
title = {Medical and psychological aspects of crisis management during a nuclear accident}
author = {Drottz-Sjoeberg, B M}
abstractNote = {Crisis handling in most kinds of disasters is affected by e.g. the information situation, prior experience and preparedness, availability of resources, efficiency of leadership and coordination, and type of disaster. A nuclear accident creates a situation which differs from many `normal` disasters and natural catastrophes, for example with respects to the invisible nature of radiation and radioactive contamination and thus the dependence on access to specific technical equipment and expertise, and to information about the radiation situation. The scope of the accident, and the existing levels of radiation, define subsequent actions; information policies and existing channels of communication lay the foundation for public reactions. The present paper explores some examples of public reactions, and crisis handling of some previous radiation accidents on the basis of two dimensions, i.e. degree of information availability and degree of impact or `environmental damage`. The examples include the radiation accidents in the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals, at Three Mile Island, USA, at Chernobyl in the Ukraine, and in Goiania, Brazil. It is concluded that public reactions differ as a function of existing expectations, and the crisis handling is more affected by the existing organizational and social structures than by needs and reactions of potential victims. Another conclusion is that pre-disaster preparedness regarding public information, and organization of countermeasures, are crucial to the outcome of a successful crisis handling and for enhancing public trust in crisis management. 39 refs, 2 figs.}
place = {Sweden}
year = {1993}
month = {Jun}
}