Public attitudes toward technological hazards after a technological disaster

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand how the 2015 Tianjin Port explosion – which resulted in more than 100 deaths – changed local residents’ acceptance, perceived benefit and risk and trust related to hazardous goods warehouses and chemical plants (HGWCPs) and how it influenced local residents’ decisions about accepting HGWCPs through the lens of the trust heuristic.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted eight months after the disaster. Respondents were classified into two groups: involved (with direct experience of the explosion) and uninvolved (without direct experience). Their trust in those responsible for HGWCPs, and perceived benefit, perceived risk and acceptance associated with HGWCPs were surveyed.FindingsThe disaster reduced public acceptance of HGWCPs and trust and increased perceived risk. Trust retained an indirect effect on acceptance through perceived benefit in both groups and a direct effect on acceptance in the involved group. Trust partly accounted for the reduction in acceptance of HGWCPs.Practical implicationsResults remind the local government of the medium-term psychological consequences of the Tianjin Port explosion (e.g. increased perceived risk and reduced trust) and suggest the importance of building trust in mitigating risk perceptions of relevant technological hazards.Originality/valueIt represents a valuable addition to the literature on the medium-term psychological consequences of technological disasters and on the public’s decision making about hazardous technologies.