Communicating Risks with Mobile

Phone Systems
Stakeholder dialogue and trust-building

EuroScience Open Forum 2004

Björn Hedberg
Swedish Radiation Protection Authority, SSI
www.ssi.se

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SSI´s Experience in Risk Communication
Final management of radioactive waste and spent
nuclear fuel

• Facts - Value-laden judgements - Values

• Big problems with national programs on radioactive
waste disposal
– Lack of public acceptance and trust

• Corresponds to different models of decision-making

Technocratic < > Pragmatistic < > Decisionistic

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SSI´s Experience in Risk Communication
Final management of radioactive waste and spent
nuclear fuel

8 Feasibility studies…
• Need for authorities to act as “people's experts”
and “guardian of the process”
• Different municipalities - different needs
Information, Dialogue, Debate, Expert-meetings, Hearings…

> Improved communication process

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SSI´s Experience in Risk Communication

The DIALOGUE project (1990 – 93)

• A clear legal base for decisions
• Review and validation by technical/scientific bodies
separated from the political power
• Distinguish between factual judgements and value-
laden judgements
• Two-way communications between all stakeholders
• Avoid manipulation

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SSI´s Experience in Risk Communication

The RISCOM Pilot project (1996 - 98)

• Technical/scientific and value-laden elements
interaction between them - “transparency”
• Need to understand the roles of the different
stakeholders
• Possibilities of evaluating the contribution and
authenticity of all actors - “stretching”

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Stretching
A sufficiently demanding environment for all
stakeholders, with critical questions raised from
different perspectives

Transparency
The outcome of learning processes that increase all
stakeholders’ appreciation of related issues, and provide
them with channels to stretch to meet requirements for
technical explanations, authenticity, and legitimacy.

Transparency requires Communicative Action

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 RISCOM basics

Facts - Scientific Methods and Technology

Dialogue to Clarify

Legitimacy Authenticity
- Norms -Personal and organisational
integrity/identity/truthfulness
-What builds Trust

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 But what builds Trust ?

Components of trust Factors in assessing trust and credibility

(Institutional trustworthiness) Vincent Covello (93)
Ortwin Renn (98)

• Competence • Competence & expertise

• Openness • Honesty & openness
• Fairness • Dedication & commitment
• Empathy • Empathy & caring

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 The RISCOM Model
Policy
Problematic
environment
Intelligence

Stretching
Societal Monitoring-
communi-
cation
Control In-house
communi-
cation
Laymen
Day-to-day Primary
perception
experience Activities

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Using the RISCOM - model
Perceptions of Risk and Radiation Protection Criteria
Dialogue on SSI´s regulations on nuclear waste

• Regulations very general > guidance needed

• Seminars and Focus groups - risk concept related to
radiation protection criteria
• Continuing dialogue

 Include municipality values into the guidance document

 Response to the expressed needs of the public
 Expose authority expertise to stretching

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 RISCOM applications in SSI´s arenas
• Nuclear waste
Policy
Policy
Problematic
Problematic
environmen
environmen
Problematic
t
Policy
Intelligence
Intelligence
• Mobile telephones
t Policy
environmen
t
Problematic stretching
stretching
Intelligence and EMF
environmen Societal
Societal
Policy Monitoring-
t communi- stretching Monitoring-
Intelligence
Control
• Medical use of
communi-
Problematic Societalcation Control
Monitoring- in-house
environmencommuni- cation in-house
t stretching Policy
IntelligenceControl communi
cation communi
in-house
Problematic Societal
environmencommuni- Laymen
cationLaymen
stretching
Monitoring-
IntelligenceControlPrimary
Policy
day-to-day Primary
-cation
-cation
communi
-cation
radiation
t perceptio
Societal perceptio day-to-day in-house
Laymen Monitoring-
experience Activities
Problematic communi- n experience Activities
Primary communi
environment cation
perceptio
Societal Laymenn
n
stretching day-to-day Control Activities
Intelligence
experience
Monitoring-
-cation
in-house
communi
• Radioactive waste
communi-perceptio day-to-day Primary
Control Activities -cation
cation stretching experience in-house
• UV/sun
n
Societal Laymen Monitoring- Primary
day-to-day communi
communi-perceptio
n experience Control Activities -cation
cation in-house
Laymen
Primary Commun
• Radon
perceptio day-to-day
experience Activities -ication
Laymen n
perception day-to-day Primary
experience Activities

Institutional
trustworthiness ?
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Debate on New Mobile Phone Systems
• Aggressive debate in mass media
• Fragmentation of issues / narrow framing
• No distinction between facts, value-laden
judgments and values
• Unclear understanding of the roles and arenas of
different stakeholders
• Divergent perceptions of the earlier stages of the
mobile phone evolution in Sweden
• Strategic action instead of communicative action

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 Transparency Forum - Mobile Phone Systems
1. Internal discussion and decision (SSI)
2. Preparatory meetings to define the need for a
dialogue process
• Municipal interest very high
• Extended meetings with a larger set of stakeholders
(Other authorities, municipal representatives, industry, NGO:s etc.)
• Creation of a reference group
• Preliminary project proposal, mutual agreement,
principles for financing
3. Decision to proceed with the project

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 Transparency Forum - Mobile Phone Systems

Project Aim
To improve the dialogue and transparency in society
regarding electromagnetic fields, focusing on new
mobile telephone systems, and
To increase the mutual understanding of different
stakeholders roles and value judgements so that
different discussions will be addressed in the right
arenas

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 Transparency Forum - Mobile Phone Systems
Project description
Phase 1
Creating a mutual knowledge base – with a focus on
interactive seminars
Phase 2
Focusing on different types of hearing formats
(stretching)

Financing of phase 1 will be made by Swedish authorities

Phase 2 could possibly be supported also by other financiers

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 Transparency Forum - Mobile Phone Systems
Project description - Phase 1

1 - Roles and arenas of the different stakeholders

• Historical evolution - new mobile telephone systems
• Description of different stakeholders roles and
arenas
• System description – interaction between different
stakeholders and arenas
• A thorough description of the municipal arenas

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 Transparency Forum - Mobile Phone Systems
Project description - Phase 1
2 - The research basis for the risk judgment
• Radiation – Physical and biological facts and judgments
about non-ionising radiation
• Risk judgment concerning mobile telephones
• Different methods for risk judgment
• The basis for SSI´s judgments and dose limits
• The situation for individuals who find themselves over-
sensitive to electromagnetic fields
• An international view – results from the Netherlands study

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 Transparency Forum - Mobile Phone Systems
Project description - Phase 1

3 - Precautionary principles and dose limits

• The Rio declaration
• Legal aspects (EU and national legislation)
• Dose limits for non-ionising radiation
• Different interpretations and practical implications

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 Transparency Forum - Mobile Phone Systems
Project description - Phase 1

4 ? Communication and Media

• Interaction with mass media
• The role of mass media

Project description - Phase 2

• Planning will be done at the end of Phase 1
• Focus on hearing/stretching/publicity

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 Transparency Forum - Mobile Phone Systems
Results ?

• The only way to make a man trustworthy is to

trust him Henry L Stimson

• A man who trusts nobody is apt to be the kind

of man nobody trusts Harold Macmillan

www.ssi.se
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