Public status toward radiation and irradiated potatoes at “Youngster’s Science Festival” in several cities including Tokyo, Osaka, and Hiroshima, Japan

Abstract

Abstract “Youngster’s Science Festival” has been held in several big cities in various districts in Japan for the purpose of induction of young students’ interests in science and scientific experiments. On the basis of the survey results from the participants of the “Radiation Fair” in Osaka, Japan, which was presented at the last IMRP, we expanded the area of survey and distributed questionnaires to the visitors of the above event to inquire their status toward radiation and irradiated products including irradiated potatoes. The survey results indicated the same trends as that of the “Radiation Fair” survey. That is, more than half of the older visitors (16 years old and upward) indicated that they recognized the word of “radiation” when they were at elementary school and the most significant sources of this information were school lessons and the mass media. We will discuss the relationship between consumer’s image toward radiation and the description of radiation related topic in school textbooks.