Differences Between the Perception of Radiation Risk and Actual Behavior of the Population in the Contaminated Areas and the Vicinity After the Chernobyl Accident. Hennriette V. Arkhangelskaya and Irina A. Zynova, Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene, Mira Str. 8, St. Petersburg, 197101 Russia; and Britt-Marie Drottz-Sjöberg, Center for Risk research, Stockholm School of Economics, Box 6501, S-11385 Stockholm, Sweden
This paper discusses recent work on psycho-sociological effects related to the Chernobyl accident in 1986. An international group of medical, psychological and sociological experts has collected data on people's reactions and perceptions of radiation risk since that time. The results indicate that population anxiety does not correspond with the level of radionuclide contamination of the territories and with the population exposure doses. The high levels of subjective estimates of radiation risk; i.e., 80% of respondents evaluate it right now to be very high, do not correspond with observed behavior, i.e., only 20% from this risk conscious group fulfilled protective measures. Another interesting result shows that most of the respondents do not trust the Government and local authorities but they continue to expect their help. There are many such discrepancies, or "paradoxes" of the behavior of the population in the contaminated and neighboring areas which might be connected with the national characteristics and consequences of the previous social system--tendencies to paternalism, fatalism, social passivity and so on. The paper gives a review of our long time experiences, and discusses their implication for our future work.