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Trust as a Determinant of Opposition to a High‐Level Radioactive Waste Repository: Analysis of a Structural Model
Author(s) -
Flynn James,
Burns William,
Mertz C.K.,
Slovic Paul
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
risk analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1539-6924
pISSN - 0272-4332
DOI - 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1992.tb00694.x
Subject(s) - opposition (politics) , radioactive waste , perception , risk perception , spent nuclear fuel , multivariate analysis , business , environmental health , public economics , psychology , engineering , political science , economics , waste management , computer science , medicine , law , politics , neuroscience , machine learning
Residents in the State of Nevada hold strong opinions about the federal government's proposal to site the nation's first high‐level radioactive waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The model developed in this study is designed to examine the relationship between public perceptions of risk, trust in risk management, and potential economic impacts of the current repository program using a confirmatory multivariate method known as covariance structure analysis. The data used to test the model was collected in a 1989 statewide survey of Nevada residents. The results indicate that, for a statewide sample, perceptions of potential economic benefits do not have a significant role in predicting support or opposition to the repository program. On the other hand, risk perceptions and the level of trust in repository management are closely related to each other and to positions on Yucca Mountain. Trust directly influences risk perceptions which, in turn, have a direct effect on the attitude toward the repository, and an indirect effect through perceived stigma effects.