An overview of the activities of the CNRA* Working Group on Public Communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (WGPC)

Transcription

1 NDC Conference on Public Involvement in Siting of Nuclear Facilities OECD Conference Centre, Paris February 2011 An overview of the activities of the CNRA* Working Group on Public Communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (WGPC) Karina de Beule, FANC On behalf of Yeonhee Hah, KINS, Chair *CNRA : Committee on Nuclear Regulatory activities (one of the seven NEA Standing Committees) 1

2 WGPC Mandate (as of 2005) Objective : To provide support to improve communication of NROs by identifying good practices and facilitating consistent and proportionate NRO* public communication related to any event with potential public interest *NR0: Nuclear Regulatory Organisation 2

3 WGPC Work Method & Products Method of working Annual meetings to share information, views, experiences Writing of consensus documents (e.g., Technical Notes) Setting-up Topic Teams & Team Leaders Use flashnews system to exchange in real time Products Reports for submission as CNRA reports Technical notes for Working Group internal use Organisation of Workshops 3

4 WGPC Membership Chairs: Yeonhee Hah, Korea (2010-present) Luc Chanial, France ( ) Anders Jörle, Sweden ( ) Vice-Chair: Anton Treier, Switzerland (2006-present) 18 NEA Participating Member Countries + EC Belgium (FANC) Hungary (HAEA) Slovak Rep. (UJD) Canada (CNSC) Ireland (RPII) Spain (CSN) Czech Rep. (SUJB) Japan (NISA; JNES) Sweden (SSM) Finland (STUK) Korea (KINS) Switzerland (ENSI) France (ASN) Netherlands (VROM) UK (HSE/ND) Germany (BMU) Norway (NRPA) USA (NRC) 2 Observers: Russian Federation, IAEA 4

5 WGPC Workshops - general Objectives : To address areas of improvement for NRO public communication in bringing together Senior Regulators and communication experts Achievements : Investing in Trust: Nuclear Regulators and the Public December 2000, Paris Building, Measuring and Improving Public Confidence May 2004, Ottawa Transparency of Nuclear Regulatory Activities May 2007, Tokyo Audience : 80 to 100 participants from most NEA countries including 8-10 Top Regulators Proceedings: available at OECD bookshop 5

6 WGPC Workshops findings (1/2) Over the last 20 years, public perception of has changed substantially; public wants more information Countries have different approaches to public communication but can benefit from better exchange Freedom of information Acts, in all OECD countries since 2006, have highlighted the importance of transparency in nuclear regulatory activities Public expectations of NROs have significantly increased leading to tremendous development of most NRO communications Despite differences in cultural context, more communication principles and practices are now shared by NROs. 6

7 WGPC Workshops findings (2/2) NRO Communication Plans are used in many countries Stakeholder Involvement is necessary to enhance safety and support public confidence NRO websites provide the public with direct access to information the NRO communicators' network (with the electronic Flashnews platform) has become an essential feature for consistently informing the Public about media events However, some challenges remain for the NROs are topics for future work 7

8 WGPC guidance documents Objective : To summarise countries practices regarding some specific communication topics that were found useful by the WGPC for possible implementation in other countries Achieved Technical Notes : Publicity of Regulatory Decisions - CNRA/WGPC(2006)4 Communication in Abnormal Situation - CNRA/WGPC(2006)5 Local Meetings of NROs - CNRA/WGPC(2006)2 Surveys of Public Perception - CNRA/WGPC(2006)3 CNRA Reports : Achievements and Challenges in Nuclear Regulatory Communication with the Public - CNRA/R(2008)4 Commendable practices on Transparency in Nuclear Regulatory Communication with the Public - CNRA/R(2011)3 8

9 WGPC Network Objective : to assist NRO communicators for consistently informing their Public about safety significance of events that have media impact outside the country of origin Means : the electronic Flash@news platform allows fast exchange amongst NRO communicators about any event or regulatory matters that trigger media interest in one country Implementation: 60 registered correspondents in 25 countries Average one media event per month that can prompt several dozen of exchanges Used by NRO to check the actual facts behind international nuclear rumours 9

10 WGPC Report on Transparency Objective : To establish good practice on transparency in nuclear regulatory communication with the public Main findings (from survey): Information disclosure and transparency & the legal position (importance of interactions with licensees) Routine access to information (importance of NRO s websites -> future work) Public engagement activities (differences from one NRO to another) Using the media as a communications channel to access the wider public (-> topic for future work) Creating a culture of and evaluating transparency (question of internal communication) CNRA Report issued in January 2011 (CNRA/R(2011)3) 10

11 WGPC task on Local Meetings Objective : to provide guidance on developing relationship between NRO and the local public about the status of nuclear and radiation safety Observations (from the survey) : Local residents put more trust in the regulator than in the licensee, so a clear distinction is important; Meeting people and having a dialogue with NRO provides a more human image of the regulator, a better understanding of public concerns, and enhances understanding of the NRO s mission; Trust is enhanced when the NRO helps the public understand the technical aspects of safety. WGPC Note issued in December 2010 (CNRA/WGPC(2006)2) 11

12 WGPC task on NRO public perception Objective : To develop guidance on good practice for measuring public perception of NROs in order to more accurately consider public attitudes in regulatory processes Observations (from survey): Results of national surveys showed the importance of cultural context. No simple trends were found. Countries may use collected questions for future surveys if the cultural context is similar. Individual country collection records will be retained for WGPC only for further use by members WGPC Note issued in December 2010 (CNRA/WGPC(2006)3) Include example of questions for surveys 12

13 WGPC task on Crisis Communication Objective : to expand the guidance about abnormal situations to emergency situations and other events or rumours that may affect public trust in NROs Topics addressed in the survey : Definition (includes media pressure that might affect the NRO s reputation) Responsibility and timing of NRO communication Content & communication channels (direct, Internet) Communication organisational aspects Exercise/drills and role for media Emergency centers communication, Next Steps: Analysis of results ongoing Conclusions/future developments planned for end

14 WGPC area for future work Tasks planned for future WGPC Work ( ): NRO communication plans & routine communication (for better structuring NRO public communication along with main NRO challenges and main target groups ) NRO use of Internet and of new Information Technologies (e.g. Social Media) for interacting with the general public. 14

15 WGPC areas for cooperation Public Communication is a cross-cutting area of interest within the NEA Committees Specific areas of public interest & NEA Standing Committees: Nuclear safety & regulation CNRA Nuclear Emergency matters CRPPH Nuclear waste disposal siting RWMC New Nuclear Installations siting NDC Other areas of cooperation beyond NEA: International Nuclear & radiological Events Scale (INES) jointly operation with IAEA & WANO 15