THE DRAGON OF KOVACHITSA - LOCAL PERCEPTIONS OF RADIOACTIVE POLLUTIONNEAR THE KOZLODUI NUCLEAR-POWER STATION (BULGARIA)

There is continuing uncertainty surrounding the safety of nuclear powe r stations in Eastern Europe, among them the one at Kozlodui, Bulgaria . It is argued in this paper that attempts on the part of the state to assert the safety of nuclear power stations are expressed in terms of an official ''nuclear-safe'' discourse, while the local inhabitants n ear the Kozlodui nuclear power station employ a vernacular mode of exp ression to explain possible radioactive pollution.