engleski

A citizen monitoring network around future Croatian RadWaste Centre – a pilot project proposal and subject for discussion

Public interest in policy decisions of a complex, technical nature, in particular in the field of technologies which use ionizing radiation, has grown in recent years. Formal provisions for disseminating information to the public about proposed policies regarding the use of radioactive technologies are now common place. In recommending and authorizing new public policies and plans for implementing them, as there is/will be the case of Croatian RadWaste Centre, officials of public regulatory and other responsible agencies are purveyors of social change. Implementation of their proposals, however, often depends and will certainly depend on the planners’ abilities to respond to public sentiment and to gain public acceptance. In this special case the normal public information process till now did not address the depth of public concern over the proposed purge and did not facilitate public understanding or acceptance of the proposed plans fully. Instead, the process was hampered by substantial public resistance and therefore an addition effort using societal science and humanities is recommendable. We are proposing to the authorities to sponsor a unique project to provide citizens with information about radiation exposures and to rebuild public confidence in information supplied by government agencies. The Citizen Radiation Monitoring Program (CRMP) trained citizens to monitor, interpret to a certain extent, and publicize reviewed radiation levels in the community. This presentation will point to a past experiences involving citizens in disseminating public information when it was necessary [1], points the pilot project ideas and discuss its possible or desired outcomes. The discussion should reflect on implications for disseminating public information on similar, complex social and technological issues in other settings. Discussion should help to point out the number of factors that determine whether information exchange between policy makers and the public is effective or ineffective. In the action research pilot project that is proposed, an attempt is made to improve a situation in which a serious deficiency in the information exchange process had developed. [1] Azby Brown et al. Safecast: successful citizen-science for radiation measurement and communication after Fukushima, 2016 J. Radiol. Prot. 36 S82

citizen monitoring, radioactivity, electronic dosemeters, network dosemeters

Rad je izrađen u sklopu internog projektnog zadatka razvoja mjerne tehnologije kao nastavak aktivnosti projekta IPPSO (http://ippso.imi.hr/)RC2.2.08-0027 iz sustava projekata EUROPSKOG FONDA ZA REGIONALNI RAZVOJ (EFRR)i Instituta za medicinska istraživanja i medicinu rada, Zagreb kao Prijavitelja projektnog zadatka.