| LEI Cui-ping,CHENG Xiao-jun,ZHANG Qin-fu,et al.Public knowledge and attitudes towards the 60Co incident in Qixian County, Henan Province[J].Chinese Journal of Radiological Medicine and Protection,2011,31(2):138-143 |
| Public knowledge and attitudes towards the 60Co incident in Qixian County, Henan Province |
| Received:December 01, 2010 |
| DOI：10.3760/cma.j.issn.0254-5098.2011.02.006 |
| KeyWords:Radiological emergency Rumors Public perception to radiation Risk communication |
| FundProject:卫生行业科研专项(200802018) |
| Author Name | Affiliation | | LEI Cui-ping | National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing 100088, China | | CHENG Xiao-jun | National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing 100088, China | | ZHANG Qin-fu | National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing 100088, China | | SUN Quan-fu | National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing 100088, China | | FU Ying-hua | National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing 100088, China | | CHU Cai-fang | National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing 100088, China | | QIN Wei-dong | National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing 100088, China | | ZHAO Yan-fang | National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing 100088, China | | WANG Hong-wei | National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing 100088, China | | ZHANG Bing-jie | National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing 100088, China | | DOU Shu-lin | National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing 100088, China | | SU Xu | National Institute for Radiological Protection, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention,Beijing 100088, China |
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| Abstract:: |
| Objective To investigate radiation risk perception and nuclear acceptance after the 60Co stuck source incident in June 2009 in Qixian County, Henan Province. Methods From March to April 2010, 23 hamlets and 2 schools from 5 towns in Qixian County were selected, while 3 hamlets and 2 schools from 3 towns were used as control in Huixian County, 135 km away where no any impact of the incident was found. Face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted among three groups including mass public, elite public (representatives of public opinion, such as physicians, teachers, governmental officials, administrative personnel, private entrepreneurs), and middle school students (the third grade students in junior middle schools and the first grade students in senior middle schools). Results A total of 1340 valid questionnaires were collected. The public knowledge levels about radiation and nuclear power were low among all groups in two areas and public knowledge levels in Qixian County were higher than those in Huixian County. In both areas, the knowledge levels of the students were higher than those among the elite public, and that among the general public were the lowest. The knowledge levels of males and those with higher educational levels were higher than those of females and those with lower educational levels. More than 40.0% of the respondents supported the idea to build nuclear power plants in China, but only a small part of them supported to build nuclear power plants in their own areas. The percentages of opponents against local nuclear power plant construction were especially higher among the students and those with higher educational levels. More than 60% of the mass public and elite public believed the explanation of the government. More than 80% of the respondents held negative attitudes towards the performance of the Qixian County Government in dealing with this incident. The students gave the lowest evaluation of the credibility and the specific performance of the local government, whereas the elite public placed themselves between the students and the mass public. The reasons why the local people left their homes to evade risk included rumors (67.2%) , lack of radiation knowledge (61.9%), group psychology (59.2%), and failure of the government to inform the truth to the public in time(42.3%) . Conclusions The public still fails to know enough about radiation and nuclear power. Although they trust the government, they are dissatisfied with the performance of the local government in dealing with the incident. The negative evaluation of the students is worth concerning. |
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