CHANGES IN TRUST INADMINISTRATION OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS REGARDING A REACTOR-CORE-SHROUD NEGATIVE EVENT

Abstract

In September 2002, it was found out that a Japanese electric power company had been concealing some defects of reactor-core-shroud for more than ten years. The authors examined the changes in trust in administration of nuclear power plants regarding the reactor-core-shroud negative event using data from a three-wave panel survey conducted in August 2002, November 2002, and September 2003. Participants of this panel survey were 142 people living in Tokyo Metropolitan area. The first survey was conducted c immediately before this incident and the second one was conducted a survey after this event, i. e., in November 2002, therefore the changes in attitudes before and after this event could be measured. Furthermore, the authors obtained data from the same sample of participants 1 year after the event, i. e., in September 2003. The questionnaire consisted of items of risk perception and trust in risk experts. The results indicated that trust in the company itself and nuclear power plant system have decreased, and have not recovered even 1 year after the event, the trust being slightly improved instead.