- Author
- Soderstrom, E. J. | Sorensen, J. H. | Copenhaver, E. D. | Cranes, S. A.
- Title
- Risk Perception in an Interest Group Context: An Examination of the TMI Restart Issue.
- Coporate
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN
- Journal
- Risk Analysis, Vol. 4, No. 3, 231-244, 1984
- Sponsor
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC Department of Energy, Washington, DC Union Carbide Corp., Oak Ridge, TN
- Contract
- W-7405-ENG-26
- Keywords
- community relations | human response
- Abstract
- Human response to environmental hazards and risks has been the subject of considerable research by social scientists. Work has traditionally focused on either individual response to the risks of an ongoing or future threat (hazards research), or group and organizational response to a specific disaster event (disaster research). As part of a larger investigation of the restart of the Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island (TMI), we examined the response of interest groups active in the restart issue to the continued threat of TMI and to future risks due to restart. After reviewing the restart issue in general, the paper examines the local dimensions of the restart issue from interest group perspectives. A method for defining appropriate issues at the community level is reviewed. We then discuss differences in the perceived local impacts of alternative decisions, and systems of beliefs associated with differeing perceptions. Finally, we discuss the implications of interest group versus individual perceptions of local issues for decision making about TMI, in particular, and about technological hazards management, in general.