Rosatom head dispels nuclear energy fears with open information policy

People’s fears with regard to nuclear energy can be dispelled with openness, transparency, and the provision of necessary information. The opinion was voiced by Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian state corporation Rosatom, during the 6th international forum AtomExpo 2014 in Moscow on 9 June, BelTA has learned.

“People tend to be more concerned about sources of danger the closer they are to those sources. People are generally not concerned about remote dangers. The things are totally different with regard to nuclear energy. Public opinion polls indicate that peaceful uses of nuclear energy enjoy the highest level of trust in cities where nuclear installations are located. The farther the nuclear installations are, the higher the concerns are although the risks are objectively lower. The availability of information is what changes with distance. People who live nearby a nuclear installation — by the way it is true not only for Russia, but the UK, France, and other countries — enjoy open and greater access to the information they are interested in. Partially because a friend of theirs, a relative or someone else nearby definitely works at a nuclear installation and can deliver the truth and answer all questions,” noted Sergei Kiriyenko.

For the general public to get an objective opinion about capabilities and the safety of nuclear energy, Rosatom is busy setting up nuclear energy awareness centers in Russia and abroad. The centers attract crowds, stressed the executive.

In his words, the practice of giving public online access to data collected by radiation control systems has been justified. All the radiation sensors around Russian nuclear installations have fed their data into the Internet for several years now. “This is why we no longer see spikes of worrying due to various jokers. Now people can always check objective information,” added Sergei Kiriyenko.

The 6th international forum AtomExpo 2014 is scheduled to take place in Moscow on 9-11 June. The forum is focused on nuclear energy as a condition of energy stability. The event has been organized by the Russian state corporation Rosatom.