Public Relations in Times of Nuclear Emergencies: Examples from a Medium-Sized Public University and a Small Austrian Municipality

Abstract

Surrounded by nuclear power plants, Austria forms a nuclear power-free enclave in the heart of Europe. In 1978, the Austrian population voted against the commissioning of the already built NPP Zwentendorf. Forty years later and after the shutdown of the ASTRA research reactor in Seibersdorf, the TRIGA Mark II reactor commissioned in 1962 at the Institute of Atomic and Subatomic Physics (ATI) of the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) remains the only nuclear reactor facility in Austria. Located in the Viennese Prater (Vienna's largest recreational park area), the said reactor has defined a significant fraction of the research and teaching activities of the ATI, including training for external partners. Together with the associated teaching and research infrastructure, it puts the TU Wien in a position to work with radioactive materials and ionizing radiation and to teach the safe and responsible handling of nuclear materials. An important complementary activity of the ATI is to conduct training workshops for international experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This chapter aims at providing an insight into public relations and science communication strategies in the event of a nuclear emergency with special focus on both a personal and a university's perspective. Three case studies are discussed, in particular information management after the Fukushima crisis by the ATI, communication strategies during a delicate refueling procedure of a nuclear reactor, and perception of nuclear crisis management and communication by the mayor of a small Austrian municipality. When confronted by a massive nuclear crisis, a university can develop great strength in crisis communication and become a source of trustworthy and unbiased information to the public and the media.