RISK KNOWLEDGE AND RISK ATTITUDES REGARDING NUCLEAR-ENERGY SOURCES IN SPACE

A series of four studies examined the relationship between how much people know about the risks of using nuclear energy sources in space and how they feel about the technology. We found that the more people know, the more favorable they are-except for two groups of people selected from organizations with strong pro-industry or pro-environment positions. These results suggest that a technology will get a more favorable hearing if it can get its message out-providing that it has a legitimate story to tell and that the situation has not become too polarized already. The limits to these conclusions are discussed.