Designing Technological Hazard Information Programs: Towards a Model of Risk-Adaptive Decision Making

In the late Summer of 1985 the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs organized a series of informational meetings throughout the country on the siting of new nuclear power plants. The meetings were characterized by an extremely hostile response to the government’s pro-nuclear position. Most meetings were seriously disrupted by continuous demonstrations of environmental protection groups. Asked to explain the reaction of his fellow citizens, the Ministry’s director-general of Energy stated that it was due to a lack of information about the need for, the economic benefits of, and the nature of nuclear power.