Knowledge vs. Facts: Radiation

Ann Stouffer Bisconti, PhD

Bisconti Research, Inc.

April - May 2024

Radiation is an underlying concern when people think about nuclear energy. The stigma of radiation persists over the years.  See “Radiation: Underlying Concern” (www.bisconti.com/blog). In 2024, only 17 percent correctly identified nuclear energy as the way one receives the least radiation (out of four possible sources of radiation).

Respondents found information presented about radiation to be surprising and important. The information combined a fact about the ability to detect and measure radiation (shows control) and a comparison with radiation from a cross-country flight.

These findings are from questions asked in the 2024 National Nuclear Energy Public Opinion Survey. The new national survey was conducted from April 30 to May 2, 2024 by Bisconti Research, Inc., using a nationally representative sample of 1,000 people drawn from the Quest Mindshare Online Panel of 3.5 million people in the U.S. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Knowledge

To the best of your knowledge, how would a person receive the most radiation?

To the best of your knowledge, how would a person receive the least radiation?

Correct answer: living next to a nuclear power plant for a  year

Facts

Here are some facts about nuclear energy.

• Please rate each fact on how much it is new and surprising to you.

• Please rate each fact on its importance.

Radiation is easily detected and precisely measured. Living next to a nuclear power plant for a year gives a person less radiation than one cross-country airplane flight. (%)

[1] Chest X-ray: Ionizing Exposure of the Population of the United States. National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. NCRP Report No. 93, 1987, p. 45. 

Nuclear power plant:  Population Dose Commitments Due to Radioactive Releases from Nuclear Power Plant Sites in 1987. NUREG/CR 2850, Volume 9, 1990.  Battelle Memorial Institute Pacific Northwest Laboratory.

Coal plant: Radiation Exposure of the U.S. Population  from Consumer Products and Miscellaneous Sources, National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. NCRP Report No. 95, 1987, p. 64.

Cross-country flight: Ionizing Exposure of the Population of the United States. National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. NCRP Report No. 93, 1987, p. 45. 

© Ann Stouffer Bisconti, 2024.