The challenge of interacting with the public on nuclear emergency preparedness and iodine prophylaxis

In 1999 the Belgian federal authorities launched a large-scale campaign on nuclear emergency preparedness. The main objective was to inform the public at large of the whole territory on all aspects of radiological accidents and more specifically on the possible countermeasures, some of which they might be asked to take an active part in. At the same occasion, people living within the 10-kilometer zone surrounding the major nuclear sites were invited to collect a household stock of iodine tablets from their local pharmacy. Some well-defined target groups were offered specific and more extensive information. This was done for intervention workers, medical doctors, pharmacists and persons carrying responsibilities in schools, like principals and teachers. This paper first discusses the objectives of the campaign and the content of the information, explains the organisational set-up and practical execution, and finally gives some preliminary results of a recently conducted study on the perception of this campaign by members of the public. (authors)