CEPN is a non-profit organisation created in 1976 to establish a research and development centre in the fields of optimisation of radiological protection and comparison of health and environmental risks associated with energy systems.

The studies are undertaken by a group of a dozen of engineers and economists. The research programme is evaluated by a Scientific Council.

The association currently has three members: the French public electricity generating utility (EDF), the Institute of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) and the French Alternatives Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).

CEPN is a a non-profit organisation created in 1976 to establish a research and development centre in the fields of optimisation of radiological protection and comparison of health and environmental risks associated with energy systems.

Recent publications

Communicating on Radiation Risk: Between Science and Narrative

LOCHARD J.

Second Conference on Science, Technology, and Society (STS) : Perspectives on Nuclear Science, Radiation, and Human Health: The View from Asia, Nagasaki, Japan, 10-11 November 2015

Abstract

Radiation protection professionals suffer from a lack of confidence, which dates back to the history of the development of nuclear weapons and nuclear power. Their involvement in the management of accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima has not helped to restore this confidence and even in some cases has aggravated the gap with the population. For decades, the profession has tried to respond to criticism of all kinds, but also to the legitimate questions from citizens in trying to explain the nature of the health risk, its importance given the circumstances and to put it into perspective with other comparable risks. Despite all the deployed efforts ‘risk-communication’ has not succeeded to reverse the trend and the temptation is great for some professionals to think that the fear of radiation is powered by irrationality or even some kind of phobia.

Although there is certainly no miracle solution in this field, some experiences in relation to contaminated sites from past activities and the management of nuclear accidents show that it is possible to engage in constructive dialogue with the public if the goal is not only to explain science, but also to listen and respond to citizens' expectations. The aim of the presentation is to introduce how it is conceivable, relying on the experience of those affected by the Chernobyl and Fukushima accident, to develop a narrative about the risk of radiation. This narrative is based on the intimate experience of the persons concerned, the history of the major events of the past century, as well as the social and ethical values that underpin the radiological protection system.


(A1251)

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Exhibitions / Projects

Vous avez dit Radioprotection ?

Vous avez dit Radioprotection ?

Did you Say Radiation Protection? Stories of X-Rays, Radioactivity, etc …” is a traveling exhibition devoted to radiation protection, that is to say all the means to protect workers, the public and the environment from potentially harmful effects of X-rays and of radioactivity.

La robe et le nuage

Robe et Nuage

La robe et le nuage propose au lecteur une plongée dans le monde de la radioactivité qui n'a rien d'un pensum pour physiciens avertis. Bien au contraire, l'ouvrage, destiné au grand public, s'attache à retracer l'histoire des rayons X et de la radioactivité, ainsi que celle de son nécessaire pendant : la radioprotection. Rédigé par un spécialiste français du sujet et une journaliste scientifique, il aide à mieux comprendre la radioactivité, de La robe de Marie Curie au nuage de Tchernobyl.

ETHOS in Belarus

ETHOS en Biélorussie

Le projet européen ETHOS avait pour but d’améliorer durablement les conditions de vie des habitants des villages dont la vie quotidienne a été fortement affectée par la présence à long terme de contamination radioactive à la suite de l’accident de Tchernobyl. Il s’agissait d’une nouvelle démarche pluridisciplinaire basée sur une implication forte de la population dans l’évaluation et la gestion du risque radiologique en concertation avec les autorités locales, régionales et nationales et des experts biélorusses.