Breaking The Connections: Reducing And
Removing Environmental Health Risk In The
Canadian Nuclear Power Industry
Author(s)
J. Eyles & J. Fried
Abstract
In this paper, we examine how over the past twenty five years the nuclear
industry has used various strategies to diminish or remove any environmental
health risks that emanate from its practice and activities. Using both industry and
critical website materials, we demonstrate how risk is removed by emphasizing
its own safety culture in a complex process, its ‘clean energy’ credentials, its role
in producing national energy options, close co-operation with its regulators, the
ignorance of its critics, the suppression of opposing views and a narrowing risk
assessment approach to potential environmental and health hazards. We suggest
that the same strategies will be used after the recent Japanese nuclear disaster.
Keywords: branding, Canada, elimination of risk, environmental health,
narratives, nuclear industry, power generation.
1 Introduction
Until the March 2011 catastrophe in Japan, the nuclear power industry seemed to
have turned the corner from stagnation in the sector to widespread indications of
growth. Since its dark days of ‘nuclear winter’ and the Chernobyl disaster, the
industry has become a vital partner in the production of energy in many
jurisdictions. Many countries are gearing up to assess the economic and political
consequences of new reactors. Environmental and health concerns appeared of
little importance in political decision-making as they had seemingly been dealt
with by nuclear technological developments and safety standards. In this paper,
we examine how the nuclear industry has reached this point. Paying special
Keywords
branding, Canada, elimination of risk, environmental health,
narratives, nuclear industry, power generation
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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