THE ROLE OF SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL-FACTORS IN RADIATION PROTECTION AFTER ACCIDENTS

The inclusion of social and psychological factors in the justification and optimisation of intervention after an accident requires identific ation of the relevant factors and their appropriate quantification. Re cent studies suggest a possible approach. Some social and psychologica l factors either influence the consequences of radiation protection co untermeasures, or are direct consequences of those measures. Such fact ors can be grouped into those that alter the dose-effectiveness of a c ountermeasure, those that extend the need for countermeasures in time or space, and those that fall into neither of the first two categories . Factors of the first two types can be quantified in terms of changes to the anticipated averted dose and monetary cost of a countermeasure . Quantification of the third type is currently difficult, hut the exi stence of structural models for applications in social psychology sugg ests that such models could be developed for radiation protection in t he future.