Ionizing Radiation as Perceived by the Population: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The SCK•CEN, assisted by Research International, has organised in November 2002 an enquiry on the perception of risk and safety with a representative sample of the Belgian population. A Computer Assisted Personal Interview tackled several issues: general concerns related to safety and risks (societal – environmental – man-made vs. natural, etc.); role of experts; nuclear energy policy; countermeasures in nuclear emergency situations. A major finding is that the population has a very different perception of radiation such as medical Xrays (the good), radiation originating from nuclear facilities or radioactive waste (the bad) and radon (the ugly). At the occasion of the 40 anniversary of the Belgian Association for Radiation Protection, a selection of these questions has been presented also to the participants to an academic session dealing with risk perception. These participants were to a large extent professionals in radiation protection, with the addition of a group of students. Several differences in their perception as regards ionizing radiation or the catastrophic potential of facilities are apparent.