Development of strategies for communication with public on nuclear power

Nuclear industry, as a whole, has so often communicated a lack of confidence in the public. There are historical reasons for this, including the fact that the tremendous power of atom was introduced to mankind in a most, destructive way by exploding two atomic devices at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Other reasons are the secrecy rooted in its activities, problems in communicating scientific concepts with general public and use of jargons, which on occasions resulted in misinterpretation by the public. The resulting lack of public confidence is a major road-block in its development in many countries, including India. So it is essential to establish a trust between nuclear industry and general public. To achieve this, effective communication with public on issues related to nuclear power is imperative. The important components of this strategy are: 1. The goals 2. The message 3. The communicators 4.The audience 5.The tools. These components are briefly discussed below. The Goals: What are the goals to be achieved? The aim should be building awareness, understanding and public support for the nuclear power program across the country. If this is achieved half the battle is won. The Message: What are your messages to the public? At the outset you should be very clear about your message, believe it, and make it believable to your audience. The message should be positive, clear and simple. It should stress the inevitability of nuclear power in the energy scenario and the overall development of the country. The communicators: Who are the communicators? Identify, and prepare the communicators of the message. Put a human face on them. Make sure that those who deliver the message must really believe in the message. Third party communicators have a higher level of credibility, because they are not from the nuclear industry. It is vital that communicators be skilled in the art of listening to the audience - a two-way dialogue has to be maintained. Special training is essential for handling interviews with media. The audience: Who are your target audience? Have a thorough understanding of your audience and target them with specific messages. Categorize the audience according to their educations and knowledge of the subject. Media persons as a target group are important, because strong media relationship is critical for factual dissemination of your message. The tools: What are the tools to be developed and employed to get your message across? The basic tools are the people who speak, write and listen. Additional tools are: information, accurate information and lots of it, patience with the non-technical members in the audience and patience with irrational fears. Electronic media, leaflets, posters, brochures, etc should be used extensively. Setting up information centers, arranging visits to the plant facilities for members of the public are important tools for disseminating messages. General public is gradually getting affected by the NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) syndrome. Effective tools are to be developed to deal with this type of special situation. Conclusions: Public opinion vitally affects setting up of energy generating systems, especially nuclear power plants. Uninformed segments of the public are still sceptical about nuclear power. Lack of understanding and misconception contribute to this. So development of strategies for effective communication with public is particularly relevant vis-á-vis development of nuclear power. (author)