In its 1994 collective opinion, Radiation Protection Today and Tomorrow, the NEA Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) concluded that societal participation in the decision-making process is becoming increasingly important. This was seen as particularly true in the case of decisions involving complex radiological situations such as those following a nuclear or radiological accident (for example, the Chernobyl accident, or fallout from atomic bomb testing in the Marshall Islands), and other long-lasting exposures (such as areas contaminated by uranium mill tailings). In order to explore this issue further, the CRPPH organised a workshop in January 1998 on the societal aspects of decision making in complex radiological situations.
At the workshop - which was hosted in Villigen, Switzerland, by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (HSK) - participants concluded that it is no longer possible to take decisions in such situations without a transparent process involving the public from a very early stage. This decision-making process, which is described herein, was also seen as being valuable for other situations, such as the siting of high-level nuclear waste repositories. Recommendations for follow-up by the CRPPH are also included.
