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How people perceive risk or threats is important to many disciplines that seek to assist policy makers in developing policies, regulations and laws. Using the previous work of Slovic et al. (Fischhoff, Slovic, Lichtenstein, Read and Combs, 2000; Slovic P., 1992; Slovic, Fischhoff, and Lichtenstein, 2000) in development of the psychometric paradigm, a sample of residents (n=600) from a region with a large number of nuclear reactors was surveyed. The question set was expanded to include demographic questions to determine if they impact risk perception. Two aspects of risk perception were examined, perception of overall risk and perception of riskiness along specific dimensions of concern identified previously in the literature. For both risk and riskiness, respondents’ perceptions of nuclear power were compared to three other perceptions of technologies including use of modern farming methods using chemicals, railroad transportation and coal-generated electricity. The recent increase in public concern about nuclear power following the meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant led to the expectation that nuclear power would be rated higher in overall risk and riskiness than the other three technologies consistent with Slovic’s earlier work on risk perception. This expectation was generally supported although respondents tended to perceive modern farming methods using chemical as similar in overall risk and riskiness to nuclear power. The research specifically tested five hypotheses concerning the impact of five demographic factors: gender, race, income, education and political orientation on the overall perception of risk and riskiness. Subsequent analysis using analysis of variance and linear regression found that select demographics only explained 2% of the risk perception for nuclear power generation.

Also published on CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Information & Communication Sciences, Department of Physics, 2003. / Bibliography: p. 269-277. / Introduction -- Oliphant: a finger in many pies -- Men of vision and a world power in embryo -- The birth of the Commission -- We need secrets to trade: the Beryllia Project -- The Commission: a hive of activity -- The reactor that never was: the Jervis Bay Project -- The reinvention of the Commission -- The Commission is dead, long live ANSTO -- Conclusion. / Nuclear energy was once seen as a possible answer to man's energy needs, but it could also be used to produce the most destructive weapons known. The initial research into the phenomenon of nuclear fission was done at university laboratories in Europe on the eve of the Second World War. This war led to the development of the first nuclear weapons. After the war, many nations wanted access to both the weapons and the source of cheap power that the process of nuclear fission provided. Australia was one such nation. -- The Australian Government wanted nuclear energy to help develop the dry interior of the continent. There were many in Government who also wanted nuclear weapons. This work focuses on the Australian pursuit of nuclear energy for peaceful uses. The achieve this aim an organisation was established which would train scientists and engineers in nuclear science and technology. This organisation, the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, is the subject of this thesis. -- This work will examine the political influences that governed the Commission in its function and scientific research paths. Specifically, it will examine how successive governments caused the Commission to cancel projects, change the direction of its research, attempted (on several occasions) to amalgamate the Commission with the CSIRO, forcing the organisation into uranium mining and finally abolishing it and replacing it with a new organisation, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation. Government interference would continue with this new organisation which had its entire board dismissed in 1993. -- The Commission was essentially a scientific and engineering organisation and hence this thesis will also consider a number of projects with which the Commission was involved such as the Beryllium Project, uranium exploration and mining, the uranium enrichment programs, the purchase of two nuclear reactors, the Synroc project, and the ill-fated Jervis Bay power reactor project. Other projects which were started in the early days of the Commission, the neutron diffraction work and the isotope production projects, will be mentioned in passing. Both these projects require a more detailed appraisal than is possible in this thesis. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / viii, 278 p. ill

Text in English / Energy is the natural power stored in matter which can be potential and kinetic energy. This occurs in nature in various forms such as chemical energy, thermal energy, electromagnetic radiation, gravitational energy, electric energy, elastic energy, nuclear energy, and rest energy. The scientific research relating to nuclear energy has revealed that atoms are the foundation of matter. In 1905 Albert Einstein initiated the quantum revolution utilising the Newtonian mass-energy equivalence concept in order to put his famous equation: E =mc2, where energy is (E). This facilitated the nuclear research which focused on manufacturing the first atomic bomb. In 1945 the USA acquired its first two atomic bombs which were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, killing 200 000 people; mostly civilians. But nuclear energy research has been redirected by scientists in order to industrialise nuclear technology in order to address growing power needs. This encouraged policy makers to consider the risks posed by utilising nuclear energy for civil purposes. The shift towards peaceful nuclear energy applications has been motivated by the many valuable contributions to humankind which nuclear energy offers - for instance in the fields of energy generation, human health, agriculture and industry. The nature of nuclear energy lends itself to becoming an important component of the world energy and global economic system. Nuclear energy is a viable option for many countries including South Africa, because it offers an economic and clean source of electricity; the primary engine for socio-economic development. South Africa operates the only two nuclear power reactors in Africa, (Koeberg 1 and Koeberg 2) generating 1.8 GWe. South Africa’s energy supply infrastructure consists fundamentally of coal-fired power plants which pose serious threats to the environment. Therefore, it is assumed that the planned 9.6 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2030 will meet the requirements of South Africa’s policy regarding the diversification of available energy resources to secure energy supply, support economic growth, and contribute to environmental management. Consequently, the legal system which governs nuclear energy programme is intended to prohibit the proliferation of nuclear weapons, ensure security and maintain the safe operation of nuclear facilities. / Public, Constitutional, & International Law / LL.D.

Energy is the natural power stored in matter which can be potential and kinetic energy. This occurs in nature in various forms such as chemical energy, thermal energy, electromagnetic radiation, gravitational energy, electric energy, elastic energy, nuclear energy, and rest energy. The scientific research relating to nuclear energy has revealed that atoms are the foundation of matter. In 1905 Albert Einstein initiated the quantum revolution utilising the Newtonian mass-energy equivalence concept in order to put his famous equation: E =mc2, where energy is (E). This facilitated the nuclear research which focused on manufacturing the first atomic bomb. In 1945 the USA acquired its first two atomic bombs which were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, killing 200 000 people; mostly civilians. But nuclear energy research has been redirected by scientists in order to industrialise nuclear technology in order to address growing power needs. This encouraged policy makers to consider the risks posed by utilising nuclear energy for civil purposes. The shift towards peaceful nuclear energy applications has been motivated by the many valuable contributions to humankind which nuclear energy offers - for instance in the fields of energy generation, human health, agriculture and industry. The nature of nuclear energy lends itself to becoming an important component of the world energy and global economic system. Nuclear energy is a viable option for many countries including South Africa, because it offers an economic and clean source of electricity; the primary engine for socio-economic development. South Africa operates the only two nuclear power reactors in Africa, (Koeberg 1 and Koeberg 2) generating 1.8 GWe. South Africa’s energy supply infrastructure consists fundamentally of coal-fired power plants which pose serious threats to the environment. Therefore, it is assumed that the planned 9.6 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2030 will meet the requirements of South Africa’s policy regarding the diversification of available energy resources to secure energy supply, support economic growth, and contribute to environmental management. Consequently, the legal system which governs nuclear energy programme is intended to prohibit the proliferation of nuclear weapons, ensure security and maintain the safe operation of nuclear facilities. / Public, Constitutional, and International Law / LL. D.