The Impacts of Fukushima nuclear accident on public acceptance of geological disposal of high level radioactive waste

Otomo, Shoji*; Osawa, Hideaki  ; Hirose, Yukio*; Onuma, Susumu*

The siting of nuclear waste facilities is very difficult. The Fukushima nuclear accident may increase the difficulty. The accident was a serious incident that destroyed the trust of Japanese nuclear politics. This study explored the impacts of the accident on the public acceptance of siting a facility of high level radioactive waste. The level of public acceptance of investigation for siting of geological disposal was decreased after the accident. Affective reaction, risk perception and trust of geological disposal became more negative. Moreover, the accident reinforced concerns about social stigma and intergenerational subjective norm. The perceptions of social benefit and procedural fairness were harmed after the accident. Furthermore, multi-modeling analysis before and after the accident showed the effect of trust was weakened and the effect of affective reaction was strengthened. And, previous acceptance of siting investigation of geological disposal had little impact on the post accident acceptance. Thus, general perceptions of siting facility of HLW were changed after the accident.