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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Radiation and Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1532278
This article is part of the Research Topic Advances in Radiation Research and Applications: Biology, Environment and Medicine View all 4 articles

Radiation knowledge and anxiety levels among residents proximity to the world's first AP1000 nuclear power unit

Provisionally accepted
Jiadi Guo Jiadi Guo 1Zhiqiang Xuan Zhiqiang Xuan 1Cuiping Lei Cuiping Lei 2*Taotao Zheng Taotao Zheng 3*Zhongjun Lai Zhongjun Lai 1*Xiaoji Hao Xiaoji Hao 1Shunfei Yu Shunfei Yu 1*Yiyao Cao Yiyao Cao 1*
  • 1 Zhejiang Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Zhejiang CDC), Hangzhou, China
  • 2 Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China
  • 3 Sanmen County Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Taizhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: Assess the level of radiation-related knowledge (RRK) and nuclear energy-related knowledge (NERK) among residents near the Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant, the first project adopted the Advanced Passive Pressurized Water Reactor (AP1000) technology.In this study, respondents were selected using stratified multi-stage random sampling for residents aged 18 years and above living within 30 kilometers of the Sanmen Nuclear Power Station. Respondents were surveyed face-to-face by investigators who received standardized training. The results of the survey were collated and analysed to assess the RRK and NERK levels of the respondents from both subjective and objective perspectives, and the anxiety levels were assessed using the Likert Scale. Factors affecting RRK, NERK and anxiety levels of residents were analysed using multiple linear regression analysis.The study interviewed 751 individuals. Participants correctly answered an average of 2.76 out of 7 objective radiation knowledge questions, yielding a 39.4% RRK cognition rate. For nuclear energy knowledge, the average was 2.14 out of 7, resulting in a 30.5% NERK cognition rate. Spearman's correlation and multiple linear regression analyses revealed that higher education and younger age were positively correlated with RRK and NERK. Gender significantly influenced NERK, with males scoring higher than females. Anxiety levels were inversely related to age and directly related to education. Regression analyses also indicated that occupation affected nuclear-related anxiety, and married and unmarried individuals exhibited higher anxiety levels than widowed individuals.Residents near the Sanmen Nuclear Power Station showed improvements in RRK and NERK, but levels remained low. Both RRK and NERK correlated with age and education, while NERK was also linked to gender. Anxiety among residents was associated with age, education, occupation, and marital status. These findings highlight the need for improved public education on RRK and NERK, effective engagement strategies, and measures to address residents' anxiety to enhance decisionmaking and social trust regarding nuclear safety.

    Keywords: radiation-related knowledge, nuclear energy-related knowledge, Nuclear power plant, Anxiety, public acceptance

    Received: 21 Nov 2024; Accepted: 26 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Guo, Xuan, Lei, Zheng, Lai, Hao, Yu and Cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Cuiping Lei, Chinese Center For Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 102206, China
    Taotao Zheng, Sanmen County Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Taizhou, China
    Zhongjun Lai, Zhejiang Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Zhejiang CDC), Hangzhou, China
    Shunfei Yu, Zhejiang Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Zhejiang CDC), Hangzhou, China
    Yiyao Cao, Zhejiang Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Zhejiang CDC), Hangzhou, China

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