Stakeholders and Radiological Protection: Lessons from Chernobyl 20 Years After: A Report

This report is a tribute to the people living in areas that, 20 years after still live with the effects of the Chernobyl disaster. It shares the experiences of radiation protection professionals who reached out to some of those impacted by the Chernobyl accident, engaging to assist them to become knowledgeable and active managers of their own radiation exposure while living in a radioactively contaminated environment. Active stakeholder involvement gave these residents the capability to participate in the decision-framing process to address their issues regarding the rehabilitation of their living conditions in the contaminated territories. This more inclusive approach to decision-framing and issue resolution allowed the affected residents to gain greater control over their future. The report also describes stakeholder involvement initiatives from Norway and the United Kingdom, as examples from countries further afield. In the conduct of ongoing reviews of existing nuclear and radiological emergency protocols and preparing for emerging threats it is important to consider and implement as appropriate the many lessons learnt from the Chernobyl accident...