Report on Nuclear Understanding Activities of PA Team 'Sweet Potato'

Notoya, Masako; Ayame, Junko ; Komori, Yuko; Gunji, Ikuko; Rimiko, Tabata,; Mizutani, Tomoko ; Rika, Yonezawa,

The Public Acceptance(P.A.) team, "Sweet Potato", was established in December 1996 to promote public understanding of nuclear. Tokai Village has been the center of nuclear energy development in Japan for almost forty years. Although the residents have been very supportive, the critical JCO accident in 1999 caused them a great deal of anxiety and distrust. Soon after, the P.A. team's objectives were altered to accommodate the resulting new needs of the public. The focus was shifted to local residents and young people in order that they would have better understanding of nuclear energy. Since 2001, one of the P.A. team's main activities has been giving "Nuclear Disaster and Radiation Prevention" and "Energy and Radiation" presentations at elementary schools and junior high schools throughout the Tokai region. This paper presents the findings, results and lessons learned from these and other activities, and will contribute to the future work of the PA team.