RE: Strontium-90 on Tennessee Highway 95

["Flanigan, Floyd" <Floyd.Flanigan@nmcco.com>]

This brings a very important point to the forefront: It's all about trust. Trust is EARNED. Over the years, many ... The D.O.E. included ... have demonstrated a lack of trustworthiness to the public. Whether it falls under the heading of media portrayal or down right dishonesty, the perception of not being able to trust "Big Brother" is a factor in public perception of regulatory guidelines. If you are told something is safe, but you don't trust that the person telling you it's safe, validity of the information is a moot point. You are going to have misgivings about it. If you and I have been best friends since the third grade and I hand you a pill in the locker room at the gym and say "Take this. It will help you recover from the workout more quickly." you would probably have little or no reservations about taking the pill. If the same pill is offered to you by someone you hardly know and have had bad experiences with in the past, the pill, soon after being offered, might se

rve as a suppository for the one offering it.

 

What's my point? Trust can be a hard pill to swallow depending on the one offering it to you. Again ... trust is EARNED and in the public eye, many have been given little reason to grant that trust. The media, especially movies and TV, aren't very helpful when it comes to this. The near constant portrayal of government conspiracies and CIA Operatives lurking around every corner, leaves some of the public with a little twinge of paranoia. Then there are little kernels of truth like the Tuskegee Experiment which, although a part of the relatively distant past, stands out as an undeniable example of Uncle Sam's track record.

 

Personally, I trust. But not without a questioning attitude. I have a decent knowledge level due to a very good education. This affords me a higher comfort level when it comes to knowing what to trust and what bears further investigation. Unfortunately, it is a logistical impossibility to educate the general public to the level of a nuclear professional. We simply don't have the resources to accomplish such an undertaking. So, I guess the next best thing would have to be for all of us in the arena of nuclear professionals or regulatory officials, to represent ourselves with the highest level of integrity possible in an effort to reclaim some of the lost trust .... to EARN it back from the public.

 

Just my own delusional ramblings.

Nothing to be concerned about.

Honest ... I can't get out of this thing ... The sleeves tie in the back.

 

Floyd W. Flanigan B.S.Nuc.H.P.



-----Original Message-----

From: owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu [mailto:owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu]On Behalf Of Kent, Michael D.

Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2004 4:47 AM

To: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

Subject: FW: Strontium-90 on Tennessee Highway 95





 



 

Hmmmmmmmm, let's use some Operational Experience (OE).  The nuke industry loves OE.

 

Think back about, oh lets see 25 years to a far away place called TMI.  One of the lessons learned from TMI was that the public needs to be informed, correctly,  and in a manner in which they can understand, from the get go.  As stated below communication is vital.

 

I guess the DOE didn't  learn from that either.

 

My own opinion.

 

Michael D. Kent

 

 

Actually, there's a lot of validity in that  A lot of us could use more training in effective communication, psychology, leadership (the right-brain kind of stuff).  I can recall many instances where radiation workers, members of the public, etc. have been turned "anti" because of dismissive or condescending attitudes, ineptly communicated explanations of risk, or the "we know what's good for you" attitude.  Like or not, personal perceptions become personal realities and feelings become beliefs.