Purpose: Local neighboring residents of Gori Nuclear filed a suit against Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., LTD(KHNP) on July, 2012. After 2 years, in 2014, Busan Eastern District Court made a partially favorable judgement on the plaintiff in the f...
Purpose: Local neighboring residents of Gori Nuclear filed a suit against Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., LTD(KHNP) on July, 2012. After 2 years, in 2014, Busan Eastern District Court made a partially favorable judgement on the plaintiff in the first trial to raise the controversy about relation of nuclear power plant and thyroid cancer, which came to increase ambiguous anxiety about living near the nuclear power plant, and negative perception about acceptability of nuclear power to the residents. Nuclear policy, being in the midst of the policy conflict, requires understanding and cooperation of local residents of nuclear power, including national support, to be successful. Therefore, it is necessary to make an effort to understand national opinions and attitude about it, in order to secure acceptability about nuclear power plant. Regarding the mentioned, this research, based on the residents of Busan, is to make a basic data for nuclear policy with the national acceptability considered, by understanding the national perceptional change after the litigation on damage of thyroid cancer around the nuclear power plant, and perceptional gap between the residents in the neighboring area and remote area of nuclear power plant.
Materials and methods: The survey was modified, considering the purpose of the research, based on the questionnaire items of the existing research, and consist of (1) risk, (2) preference and economics regarding type of power, (3) perception about the litigation on damage of thyroid cancer around the nuclear power plant, (4) perception of nuclear power, (5) attributes of media information. Research materials were analyzed by SPSS statistical program, verified by χ2 test , t-test, one-way ANOVA with attributes of factors considered. The relation of Nuclear power plant relating perceptional sub-factors(acceptability, risk, credibility) was verified by correlation analysis.
Result: In order to analyze perceptional gap between the residents in the neighboring area and remote area of nuclear power plant before the litigation on damage of thyroid cancer around the nuclear power plant, two sample t-test was used, and the result was that the residents in the neighboring area had more positive perception in general than those in the remote area of the nuclear power plant. Also, to measure perceptional change about nuclear power before and after the litigation, paired t-test was used, and the result was that, in general, perception grew more negative, and the credibility about safety of nuclear power went lower. Next, analyzing the influence of factors on acceptability of nuclear power after the litigation, the result was that the risk of nuclear power had negative(-) effect, and the credibility of nuclear power positive(+) effect, in the aspect of acceptability of nuclear power.
Conclusion: On the litigation on damage of thyroid cancer around the nuclear power plant, national perception about nuclear power seemed to change. Especially, notwithstanding the litigation, residents in the remote area were found to have more positive perception on acceptability of nuclear power after the litigation. However, the perception about safety and credibility of nuclear power appeared to be negative, giving double perception conflicting with acceptability. Based on the findings, residents in the remote area seems to suspect the safety, even though they admit the advantage and necessity of nuclear power in principle. Therefore, for the constant increased use of nuclear power in the future, national understanding and credibility, including the communication with the nation or the residents in the neighboring area of nuclear power plant, will be necessary.