Education and communication to increase public understanding of nuclear technology peaceful uses

Denise S Levy,Igor Passos Dos Santos

doi:10.15392/bjrs.v3i1a.85

Abstract

Nuclear technology helps to improve the quality of our everyday life. Nevertheless, there is still great misinformation and the issue divides public opinion. Several surveys were conducted over the past years to study public acceptance of Nuclear Technology in Brazil and worldwide. GlobeScan (2005), for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Eurobarometers (2010), published by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD), report similar socio-demographic trends: the higher the education level, the more favorable is public opinion towards nuclear power. Taking into account education and communication are crucial to increase public knowledge and understanding of the benefits of Nuclear Technology and that Internet access has increased strongly all over the country, this educational project aims to take advantage of the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to disseminate the peaceful use of nuclear technology and its benefits, informing children and teenagers, as well as parents and teachers, who are most often unaware of the matter. Whereas Internet access has increased strongly for both public and private schools all over the country, this web-based educational project, entitled Radioatividades (Radioactivities), provides short courses, curiosities and interactive activities covering topics related to Nuclear Technology and its beneficial applications in several areas, such as medicine, agriculture, industry, art and electric power generation. The project uses the combination of multiple technologies and last generation internet resources. Our target is the dissemination of information, promoting the benefits of Nuclear Technology for new generations, contributing to public acceptance of Nuclear Technology, combating misinformation in our society, omission of the media and knowledge fragmentation. Education transforms old prejudices and inspires new thoughts, stimulating development and encouraging scientific and technological research.

Highlights

Nuclear technology is part of our everyday life
This research made use of methodological standards proposed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), described in the Manual for the Production of Statistics on the Information Economy, produced in partnership with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), European Commission of Statistics (EUROSTAT) and together with the Measuring Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Development, a coalition of various international organizations aiming the harmonization of key indicators on ICT research [07]
Public opinion is strongly affected by the media and social networks, which not rarely associate radiation to nuclear weapons or major accidents, like Chernobyl and Fukushima, which had a negative impact on public opinion regarding the use of radiation and its harmful effects on human health

Summary

Introduction

Nuclear technology is part of our everyday life. Over the past decades it has helped to improve the quality of our lifestyle in many more ways than people can realize. The media and social networks associate radiation to nuclear weapons, incidents and accidents. Education and communication are crucial to increase public knowledge and understanding of nuclear Technology peaceful applications. Important surveys conducted by GlobeScan (2005) and Eurobarometers (2010) report similar socio-demographic trends: the higher the education level, the more favorable are opinions towards nuclear power. Their report, entitled Public Attitudes to Nuclear Power, was published in 2010 by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “respondents with higher levels of education are more likely to think that the advantages of nuclear outweigh the risks”. The Globescan survey (2005) for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), published in 2005, analyses the results of public opinion conducted among a thousand adult respondents in each of the eighteen participant countries [02].

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