Analyzing local perceptions toward the new nuclear research reactor in Thailand

Abstract

Understanding public perception on nuclear research reactor is necessary for the policy maker to adopt such technology in Thailand, especially the locals who live in the proposed location. The study compared perceptions between the locals living near the proposed nuclear research reactor location (within 5 km) and those living in the outer region (5-15 km). Structural equation modeling technique was adopted by assuming casual relationships between latent variables including social status, information perception, trust, benefit perception and risk perception on the local acceptance of research reactor. The results showed that the strongest relationships for both the inner and the outer perimeters were from information perception toward technology acceptance via trust and benefit perception. While both zones showed similar results, the outer perimeter seemed to show slightly stronger effects than those in the inner perimeter. (C) 2020 Korean Nuclear Society, Published by Elsevier Korea LLC.