Article

Social, ethical and communication aspects of uncertainty management

¹ SCK-CEN – Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, Mol, Belgium
² MUTADIS, Paris, France
³ EIMV – Elektroinštitut Milan Vidmar, Ljubljana, Slovenia
⁴ NMBU/CERAD – Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Environmental Radioactivity, Ås, Norway
⁵ CIEMAT-CISOT – Sociotechnical Research Centre, Barcelona, Spain
⁶ EEAE – Greek Atomic Energy Commission, Athens, Greece
⁷ DIALOGIK – non-profit institute for communication and cooperation research, Stuttgart, Germany
⁸ CEPN Centre d’étude sur l’Évaluation de la Protection dans le domaine Nucléaire, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
⁹ VUJE – VUJE, a.s., Trnava, Slovak Republic
¹⁰ IST-C2TN – Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal

^* Corresponding author: catrinel.turcanu@sckcen.be

Abstract

The European project CONFIDENCE identified, conceptualised and addressed social uncertainties through a multi-method research approach. The research highlighted the uncertainties faced by publics, emergency management actors and decision-makers in nuclear emergencies and during the recovery phase. It showed that nuclear emergency management is dominated by decisions under uncertainties, that non-experts face also different uncertainties than experts, that emergency plans need a (continuous) reality check and that sound communication, openness and transparency about uncertainties may contribute to better decisions. It also suggests that national emergency response and recovery policies should consider and support the capacity of local actors to deal with an emergency or post-accident situation, for instance by carrying out their own measurements. This way, social uncertainties can be addressed and in some situations reduced, and the communication improved.