Any Risk Is Unacceptable

Abstract

In the spring and summer of 2009 the Saskatchewan provincial government held a consultation process to elicit citizen views on expanding the nuclear industry (UDP 2009). Thousands of citizens participated in the consultation process, and an overwhelming majority of participants opposed the expansion of the nuclear industry (Perrins 2009). We used qualitative methods to study stakeholder submissions to the Saskatchewan consultation process. We wanted to understand why the majority of citizens opposed the expansion of the nuclear industry, and why the government, the nuclear industry, and some citizens supported nuclear expansion. Our results suggest that those who oppose nuclear power do so primarily because they possess different cultural identities and value priorities than those who support nuclear power. Our findings offer insight into the academic literature around risk perception, environmental conflict, and environmental values.