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.
Highlights
Uncertainty is inherent to emergency situations, in terms of their unpredictability and potential magnitude, and the way that society responds to such events (Burns and Slovic, 2012; Eiser et al, 2012)
It showed that nuclear emergency management is dominated by decisions under uncertainties, that non-experts face different uncertainties than experts, that emergency plans need a reality check and that sound communication, openness and transparency about uncertainties may contribute to better decisions
Several studies carried out in the aftermath of the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents highlight the importance of a holistic approach to recovery management, which includes the societal dimensions in decision-making and which allows local actors to respond to a crisis through “cooperation among themselves and with other actors and relevant networks”
Summary
Uncertainty is inherent to emergency situations, in terms of their unpredictability and potential magnitude, and the way that society responds to such events (Burns and Slovic, 2012; Eiser et al, 2012). C. Turcanu et al.: Radioprotection 2020, 55(HS1), S145–S149 and other stakeholders are facing during an emergency and to investigate how they make sense of and respond to scientific and societal uncertainties, since this can have a strong impact on the effectiveness of the decision-making process. Within the European project CONFIDENCE, a multimethod approach was undertaken to investigate what are the uncertainties faced by publics and the emergency and recovery management actors, and how do these uncertainties impact their decision-making processes; to elicit stakeholders’ preferences and priorities for uncertainty management; to highlight the ethical implications of uncertainty management; to develop and test selected communication tools; and to provide advice for addressing social uncertainties in emergency preparedness, response and recovery. Additional details can be found in (Perko et al, 2020; Tomkiv and Perko, 2020; Turcanu et al, 2020; Zeleznik et al, 2020)
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