Influencing Public Opinion - A Nuclear Issue. A. Sjölander, Department of Media and Communication, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
BACKGROUND
The general problem
High material standards and a high consumption of energy are characteristics of modem industrial societies (mostly the western countries). During the past 200 years human harnessing of nature has expanded dramatically. We have used different techniques to extract energy to satisfy our needs. Since the 1970s Sweden, like many other countries, has used nuclear power to produce electric energy. In 1980 there was a referendum about nuclear power use in Sweden. As a result of this referendum it was decided that the use of nuclear power would be phased out by the year 2010. The nuclear power industry produces not only electrical energy but also hazardous radioactive waste. This long half life waste is extremely dangerous for humans and all other living organisms and must be isolated from the environment for at least 100,000 years in order to become harmless.
Today we face difficult problems, such as how and where to dispose of the radioactive waste. As of now there are no countries that have determined a final solution to these problems, although some countries have come further and I believe Sweden can be included among them. The Swedish way to dispose of the radioactive waste is called the KBS3 method. This method is to store the waste 500 meters underground somewhere in the Archaean rock of Sweden. The handling of radioactive and other hazardous waste is a general problem for modem societies. Research and experience have verified that conflicts often occur related to these issues. It has also shown that opinion formation plays an important role in the solution of location and disposal problems. Our relationship with nature is an essential question of our time. Therefore it is important and interesting for researchers to study the handling of this question.
This paper presents a research project about opinion formation
and radioactive waste management in Sweden. The study focuses
on an area in Sweden which is of interest in the location process,
the Malå area.
The Swedish example
In Sweden, the process of choosing a place to store the long half life radioactive waste, has started. It is the nuclear power industry organization, Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) that is responsible for finding a safe place for the storage and disposal of radioactive waste. The principal in the Swedish constitution is that if you produce hazardous waste you are also responsible for taking care of it. In October 1992 SKB sent out an inquiry to all rural districts (kommun) in the country and asked them if they wanted more information about the handling of radioactive waste and if they where interested in further examination of the possibilities of locating a disposal site in their area.
The whole location process for radioactive waste disposal is long and includes several steps. First SKB made a general map or survey of Sweden to exclude inappropriate areas of the country. After that SKB is planning to do five to ten pre-studies in rural districts which have volunteered. The pre-study part began with the inquiry in 1992. Recently SKB's work with the pre-study in the Malå area was published. Prior to that, one pre-study in the Storuman area was finished. The pre-study report in Storuman was positive to continuing the investigations. After the SKB's work in Storuman was finished, the local government planned to make an independent review of SKB's report.
This work never started in Storuman, because strong local opinion
demanded an immediate local referendum. The question was whether
or not SKB should be allowed to continue their work in Storuman.
From SKB's perspective the referendum produced a negative result.
In Malå the process is a bit different. The process of an independent local review has started and it will be finished in the autumn of 1997. There the local government is responsible for examining the pre-study. The work is paid for by the national government. It is important for SKB to get invitations to do five to ten pre-studies. Otherwise problems with the legitimacy of the location process can occur. Until recently four rural districts had accepted SKB's invitation. All of these districts have nuclear power industries in their area except Malå and Storuman. SKB's strategy for handling radioactive waste stresses how important it is that the actual rural districts cooperate voluntarily. The process must be characterized by open information and good cooperation with the local community. Besides the technical, legal, scientific, social and political conditions you need the public support to succeed in the location process. Both the initial survey and the pre-studies are based primarily on previously obtained information.
The next part of the location process is the choice of two sites for further investigation. After that the most suitable place will be chosen for even further, in depth examination. In the location process there are several legal tests before the final decision can be made.
THE AIM OF THE RESEACH
The aim of the research is to analyze attempts to influence opinion and disseminate information during the location process for radioactive waste in the Malå area. In addition, the project will investigate and analyze the opinions, knowledge and attitudes toward radioactive waste of the people in the Malå area.
METHODOLOGY AND THE MALÅ CASE
The research design can be described as a case study in which
both quantitative and qualitative methods are used. The case
concerns the process itself that is taking place in the
Malå area. As mentioned
above, a pre-study has already been conducted in Malå
concerning the storage of radioactive waste. The local decision
to start with a pre-study to be done by SKB was made in November
1993 and the study was published in March 1996. The independent
review will be finished in the Spring of 1997 and a local referendum
will be held in the Autumn of 1997. This referendum will be based
on both the SKB pre-study report and the report of the independent
review.
The culture and society of Malå
In order to understand and analyze these issues it is important
to know something about the culture, society and history of Malå.
To do this a study of relevant literature is being carried out.
Malå lies in the northern
interior of Sweden and is a typical sparsely-populated area with
4000 inhabitants. The population of the area is comparatively
old and the younger people continue to move out. The Malå
area has a high unemployment rate and a disappearing industrial
presence. The area was previously a mining district and this
can still be seen in the culture even though the mines are no
longer active. Many people in Malå
have knowledge and experience from working in the mines which
can have an influence on their understanding of the underground
storage of nuclear waste. Timber has been and continues to be
an essential industry. The local government in Malå
is dominated by the social democratic party. The Sami (Lapp)
culture has long been a significant element in the Malå
area. The Sami are critical to the pre-study.
People in Malå were negatively affected by the fallout from the Chernobyl accident. It affected such activities as berry and mushroom picking, hunting and most importantly, the reindeer industry. These experiences are relevant in today's discussions about radioactive waste.
Sometimes Malå is described as a bumblebee. Science has proven that the bumblebee has insufficient wings to fly, and no one can explain how it manages to do so. The same is said of Malå, how does it keep going? When the local government made the decision to let SKB start with the pre-study the members were divided equally. Those in favor of the study won by one vote, the chair-person's. A group called The Opinion Group has been organized which is critical of the pre-study.
The content analysis
One of the essential parts in the project is the content analysis, with both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The material for the analysis is made up of the mass media coverage and the planned communication (for example information brochures and campaigns).
The most important mass media material comes from the local newspaper, Norra Västerbotten (NV) and the local news television program, Nordnytt (NN). The local newspaper is the most widely read newspaper. We follow the coverage of events surrounding this issue from before the decision to do the pre-study to after the local referendum. There is a local editorial office for NV with one reporter though there are also other reporters who write about the events taking place in Malå. The main editorial office is in Skellefteå, a town about 200 kilometers away. We are interested in finding out from the analysis which arguments are used, which persons are interviewed, which perspectives (SKB's or the local opposition's) are represented and how. Further, we wish to know when the pre-study is on the agenda. Does the mass media coverage help the readers, listeners and viewer to understand what this issue is all about?
The most important part of the planned communication to be analyzed
comes from SKB, the Malå
district, The Opinion Group and the public authorities,
The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI) and National
Institute of Radiation Protection (SSI) which review SKB's
activities. It is of interest to know how the information flow
looks. Who creates the message, when and how? Which perspective
does it present and with what arguments?
SKB has an important role in the information process. The brochures and SKB-material are professionally produced and are adapted to the readers in the Malå area. SKB opened an information office with exhibits about radioactive waste management shortly after the pre-study started. During the pre-study SKB has informed the inhabitants by sending out brochures to households, arranging information meetings, study tours and so forth.
The Malå district has an employee who is responsible for distributing the pre-study information to the inhabitants. A person whom people can turn to if they do not want to go to SKB. This employee is also a member of the local government and is positive to the pre-study. Not much information has been sent out to the households from the district concerning the pre-study however seminars with experts on radiation and so forth have been held.
The Opinion Group has also arranged seminars with critical experts. They received money from the local government to inform the citizens. They have sent out some information directly to households and have advertised in the local newspaper.
Interviews with opinion leaders and information professionals
Another part in this research is to interview the local opinion
leaders about their role in the debate and opinion formation.
The first interviews were made in the beginning of the pre-study
and the second round will be made in connection with the referendum.
In the project we have interviewed for example politicians, the
local newspaper reporter, the employee responsible for disseminating
information in the area, The Opinion Group and SKB personnel in
Malå.
Interviews will also be held with the information professionals in such organizations as SKB, SKI, SSI, The Opinion Group, the Malå district and so on. We want to know which strategies they used or are using to inform the population, how they evaluate the information in the material and how they and their organization have tried to influence opinion.
A survey of the inhabitants
A survey of people from Malå in the beginning and in the end of the process is also an important part of the research. The first survey of about 350 inhabitants was done in April 1994. The survey included questions about people's opinions, knowledge, information habits and attitudes to nuclear waste and its disposal. The interesting part of this study is to see what happens with people's attitudes, knowledge etc. during the time of the pre-study and how changes can be understood in relation to the information campaigns, the mass media coverage and so forth.
From the first survey one can identify resistance to the pre-study and SKB's activities. At the same time many people were not highly involved in the question, they did not attend information meetings, for example.
In-depth interviews with focus groups
To better understand what happens when people receive information about radioactive waste and the location process, in-depth interviews of focus groups will be conducted with inhabitants in Malå. This part of the research will be done from the cognitive perspective. The process starts with the respondents viewing a television program. After that selected individuals answer a questionnaire about their thoughts, opinions, knowledge and so on. Then the group interviews and discussions start. Questions that are interesting for the research are: What are people thinking when they see a program about radioactive waste? Which thoughts are activated? Which emotions arise?
FINALLY
This research focuses on a general problem for modem societies
which is how to handle hazardous waste. The purpose is to verify
that influencing public opinion is a nuclear issue.