The article presents the different stages of the co-expertise process, which took place in the community of Suetsugi located about 30 km South from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, to improve radiological protection and the living conditions of the residents. The originality of the process lies in the fact that it was initiated and led by residents of the community with the help of local leaders and volunteer experts. It was also followed regularly by some members of the ICRP. The first part of the article recalls the general characteristics of the co-expertise process for post-nuclear accident management. The second part presents the different stages of the process that took place in the community of Suetsugi. The third part draws some lessons from the experience, which has significantly contributed to enriching the formalisation of the co-expertise process in particular with regard to the recovery of social trust and the role and attitude of experts during the recovery phase after a nuclear accident.
This paper describes an exercise in helping scientific experts find common ground with local residents following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. The first section discusses the effects of the accident in Iitate Village, which was fully evacuated after the accident, and the village’s sociocultural background, and presents a case study of a collaboration between experts and villagers in preparing an information booklet for the villagers. The second section discusses the potential for collaborations of experts in different disciplines to connect science and people, clarifies what experts learned from such a collaboration, and explains that cross-disciplinary collaboration is essential to avoiding confusion among residents. Concerns and questions from local residents were specific to their situation; residents needed specific information and advice on specific situations at specific times. The residents considered those concerns important and needed answers that would allow them to regain control over their lives. An information booklet was prepared to help local experts to build trust with the residents by providing them with the information they sought. The experts considered the process of developing the booklet to be a good example of collaboration with residents. Understanding the social values of residents, sharing those values, and making a commitment to the community were significant steps in building trust.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.