Visiting nuclear reactors–Safety and security aspects

Abstract

Visiting nuclear reactors is a niche tourism offer within energy (industrial) tourism, which leads tourists through areas that are not primarily meant for them. Hence, safety and security issues are even more critical in this case. This study aims to highlight different aspects of safety and security issues in nuclear power plant tours and to present measures taken to address these concerns. In addition, we studied the connection between plant visits and the public image of nuclear energy. Information was gathered through participant observation (personal visits of factory tours) and an online survey. There, we identified safety and security nuclear power plant visit protocols and a positive correlation between the visit variable and the two variables of the public image of nuclear energy, which suggests energy (industrial) tourism as a suitable tool to enhance awareness and knowledge about nuclear energy.

Keywords

• Nuclear power plants
• Energy (industrial) tourism
• Safety
• Security
• Risk
• Participant observation