Public Acceptance of Public Acceptance of Nuclear PowerNuclear Power

What can we do to get it?What can we do to get it?Robert L. Long, PhDRobert L. Long, PhD

Nuclear Stewardship, LLCNuclear Stewardship, LLC

Albuquerque, NMAlbuquerque, NM

May 31, 2006May 31, 2006

22

OutlineOutline

• Introduction

• Planning effective public communications

• Some personal lessons learned

• Some Bisconti lessons learned

• U.S.A. Public Opinion Surveys

• Conclusion

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How I Got StartedHow I Got StartedA Conversation in Spring 1959

Preacher: “What are you studying at Purdue?”

Long: “Nuclear Engineering.”

Preacher: “So you are going to blow the world up, are you?”

Long: “No, Sir. I’m studying the peaceful applications of nuclear energy.”

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Planning effective communicationsPlanning effective communications

What do we know about…• Public perceptions and behaviors?

• The communications environment and communications channels?

• Principles of risk communication?

55

Public Fear of Radiation*Public Fear of Radiation*

• 41% believe it is unsafe to be exposed to even tiny amounts of radiation

• 39% do not believe radiation is easily detected and monitored

*National USA Public Opinion Survey 2001 Bisconti Research, Inc. for Nuclear Energy Institute

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Radiation High Risk PerceptionsRadiation High Risk Perceptions• Dread—catastrophic, doomsday images

• Uncontrollable—invisible and unstoppable, personal helplessness

• Unfamiliar and not understood—cannot be seen or detected, I don’t understand it, authorities don’t understand it

• High uncertainty—uncertain about impact, what to do, what will happen next

• Irreversible adverse effects

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Conflicting Information BreedsConflicting Information BreedsDistrust and FearDistrust and Fear

• Information vacuum encourages rumors, exaggerates conflicting information

• Different “experts” and even government agencies may have different messages

• “Media noise” --– Focus on drama– Worse case scenarios– Talking heads selected to present “both sides”

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Use Understandable LanguageUse Understandable Language

• Avoid technical jargon

• Language gap between experts and the public creates non-attention, distrust, and/or fear

• Establish credibility

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Four Elements of CredibilityFour Elements of Credibility

1) Caring and empathy

2) Dedication and commitment

3) Expertise

4) Honesty and openness

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Some Personal Lessons LearnedSome Personal Lessons Learned

• Find your style

• Target your audience

• Know your opponents

• Take time to relax

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Find Your StyleFind Your Style

• Build a fact base.

• Lesson: Good visuals and clear verbal descriptions are essential.

• Use a little humor.

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Find Your StyleFind Your Style• Build a fact base.

• Lesson: Good visuals and clear verbal descriptions are essential.

• Use a little humor.

• Be prepared and allow lots of time to answer questions.

• Lesson: Don’t fear simple honest answers.

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Target Your AudienceTarget Your Audience

• Nuclear Energy for Humanities Students

• Elementary School Teacher Workshops

• Neighborhood Short Courses

• Use of the World Wide Web

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““Nuclear Energy Nuclear Energy For Humanities Students”For Humanities Students”

• Three semester credit hours course• Introduced in 1969 to six brave students• Routinely taught next 9 years with about

75 students• Lesson: Its important for students to

understand the philosophy of science.• Lesson: Finding ways to describe physical

phenomenon w/o math can increase understanding.

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Elementary School Teacher Elementary School Teacher WorkshopsWorkshops

• Offer workshops for elementary as well as high school teachers.

• In one school, a teacher’s 4th to 6th grade students developed a 2-hr lesson on energy taught to all 800 students in the school.

• Lesson: Elementary school children talk to each other and to their parents.

• Note: High school science teachers reach only a small fraction of students in HS.

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Neighborhood Short CoursesNeighborhood Short Courses• In ~1973, AEC sponsored development of

“Neighborhood Short Courses” on Energy and the Environment and on Applications of Nuclear Energy.

• Courses 6-weeks long, once per week, two ½-hr TV lectures each session.• NE graduate students presented tapes and led

Q&A discussion sessions.• Lesson: Delivery of good programs requires

adequate resources and follow-up.

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Use the World Wide WebUse the World Wide Web• Neighborhood short course concept could

be developed for the WWW

• Apply KISS Principle:– Simple to use– Data and graphs understandable by audience

at middle school level– Should have electronic Q&A capability

• Caution: Development of good Web sites an art requiring lots of talent and thought.

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Know Your OpponentsKnow Your Opponents

• Understanding the opposition.

• Disarming the impossible

2020

Understanding the Opposition-1Understanding the Opposition-1

• UNM Professor: “I have tried everything, without success, to get the state, the Federal Government, the Army to listen to me. Anything I say or do is justified.”

• CCNY Professor: “Dr. Long is mad. He volunteered to train for the first entry team into TMI-2.”

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Understanding the Opposition-2Understanding the Opposition-2

• TMI-1 Restart Intervener: Dr. Long is to be shunned (in the “Amish” sense).

• PBS-1999: For the first time we want to tell the TMI-2 story from the operators’ perspective… DID NOT DO!

• Lesson: Recognize and accept as reality the opponents driving functions.

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Disarming the ImpossibleDisarming the Impossible• It’s impossible to refute the number of factual

errors opponents can state in their allotted time.

• Lesson: Refute the most outrageous statements and audience generally suspects accuracy of all the others.

• Lesson: Sometimes indignant, controlled anger may be the appropriate response.

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Take Time to RelaxTake Time to Relax

• My wife, Ann’s Rule: Don’t speak (and preferably even think) the word “nuclear” when we’re on vacation.

• Lesson: We have to be committed to the “long haul.”

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Importance of Public Opinion SurveysImportance of Public Opinion Surveys

• Establish public opinion baselines

• Determine information/education needs

• Test messages to be delivered– Which ones work?– Which ones do not?

• Measure effectiveness of public education efforts

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Some Bisconti Lessons LearnedSome Bisconti Lessons Learned• “Risk” has a negative connotation—not perceived

as a neutral term• The magic word is “Safe”• Public avoids the term, “risk”

– How can we say what is safe or can be made safe?

• Probabilities about fatalities and injuries are perceived to be uncaring– How can we communicate safety without numbers?

“I am not a statistic”

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Rule of 3Rule of 3Identify 3 best top-line messages

For Example (need to test):

• National guidelines and standards exist for how much radiation is safe and safety precautions required

• We can precisely detect and measure radiation.

• In the event of an accident we can take action and return to normal

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Presenter Nonverbal MessagesPresenter Nonverbal Messages

Reinforce words by demeanor that suggests:

• Controllability

• Understanding

• Certainty

• Reversibility

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U.S.A. Public Opinion U.S.A. Public Opinion SurveysSurveys

• 22-year trends done by Dr. Ann Bisconti of Bisconti Research, Inc.

• National random samples of 1,000 U.S. adults age 18+

• Interviewed by phone • Margin of error plus or minus

three percentage points

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70% Favor Use of Nuclear 70% Favor Use of Nuclear

EnergyEnergy(Trend 1983-2005, Annual Averages)(Trend 1983-2005, Annual Averages)

70

49

24

46

20

40

60

80

1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1999 2001 2003 2005

Oppose

Favor

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All Regions Favor All Regions Favor Use of Nuclear EnergyUse of Nuclear Energy

West65%

Midwest73%

Northeast69%

South72%

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80% in Some Areas Find 80% in Some Areas Find New Reactor Acceptable New Reactor Acceptable

78

81

80

64

80

74

68

0 25 50 75 100

Low population

Medium population

High population

West

South

Midwest

Northeast

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First National Survey of First National Survey of Nuclear Power Plant Nuclear Power Plant

Neighbors Neighbors • Residents within 10-mile

radius of plants • 18 adults at each of the

64 sites• 1,152 total • Electric company

employees excluded

3333

83% of Plant Neighbors 83% of Plant Neighbors Favor Nuclear EnergyFavor Nuclear Energy

16

83

1

8

8

53

0 25 50 75 100

Don't know

Strongly oppose

Somewhat oppose

Strongly favor

OPPOSE

FAVOR

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Reasons for SupportReasons for Support

1. Safe performance2. Growing evidence of need3. Growing awareness of nuclear

energy’s benefits4. Positive attitude of the industry5. Familiarity (local community)

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Replace Coal With Nuclear PowerReplace Coal With Nuclear Power

• Editorial page headline

• Albuquerque Journal and Washington Post editorial piece by Patrick Moore,

22 Apr 06

• Moore, cofounder of Greenpeace, is chairman and chief scientist of Greenspirit Strategies Ltd.

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Quote from Moore EditorialQuote from Moore Editorial

• “Nuclear energy is the only large-scale cost-effective energy source that can reduce these [greenhouse gas] emissions while continuing to satisfy a growing demand for power. And these days it can do it safely.”

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Reasons for SupportReasons for Support

1. Safe performance2. Growing evidence of need3. Growing awareness of nuclear

energy’s benefits4. Positive attitude of the industry5. Familiarity (local community)

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Use Available ResourcesUse Available Resources• International Atomic Energy Agency

– www.iaea.org

• Environmentalists For Nuclear– www.ecolo.org– www.ecolo.org/base/basepl.htm

• Nuclear Energy Institute– www.nei.org

• American Nuclear Society– www.ans.org and www.aboutnuclear.org

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ConclusionConclusion• Public outreach and education still vitally

needed.

• Find out what works for you - and use it!

• Use public surveys to guide efforts

• Make use of resources and opportunities to learn from others (as well as your own mistakes and successes)

Never, never, never give up!