L. Myrddin Davies

Bio: L. Myrddin Davies is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Nuclear power. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 34 citations.

The Accident at Three Mile Island

Abstract: On March 28, 1979, what has been called the worst accident in the history of commercial nuclear power generation occurred at the Three Mile Island no 2 reactor unit in Pennsylvania The sequence of events that occurred during the first 16 h of the incident are described There was extensive damage to the core of the reactor as well as some release of gaseous fission products from the station However, the radiation doses received by the general public as a result of exposure to this released radioactivity were so small that there will be no detectable adverse health effects Nevertheless, the accident at Three Mile Island will have a profound effect on commercial nuclear power in the United States and throughout the world

The accident at Chernobyl Unit 4 in the Ukraine - April 1986

Abstract: On April 26, 1986, the worst accident in the history of commercial nuclear power generation occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station some 60 miles north of Kiev in the Ukraine. This paper describes the sequence of events that occurred and the consequences of the accident. There was extensive damage to the Unit 4 reactor and the building that housed it. Some 31 people died as a result of the accident, either directly or as a result of receiving lethal radiation doses. A significant release of fission products occurred, contaminating land around the station and requiring the evacuation of 135,000 people from their homes. The radioactive cloud generated over several days was carried by winds to all parts of Europe, where there was a varying degree of public concern. The contamination resulted in restrictions on the consumption of meat and vegetables. The latent health effects are, however, unlikely to be statistically significant when viewed against the normal mortality rate over the next 40 years. Although there were gross violations by the operators, the primary cause of the accident can be attributed to inherent design shortcomings in the RBMK reactor type, which is unique to the Soviet Union. The Russians havemore » said that the accident is not possible in any commercial reactor operational outside the USSR.« less

Disaster crisis management: a summary of research findings

Abstract: The crisis management of disasters does not follow automatically from disaster planning. Research has shown that successful disaster management results primarily from the activities of emergency organizations. In particular, there are management problems with respect to the communication process, the exercise of authority, and the development of co-ordination. There are at least five different areas of difficulties in the communication process, namely, intra- and inter-organizational behaviours between organizations, from organizations to the public, from the public to organizations, and within systems of organizations. Exercise of authority difficulties stem from losses of higher echelon personnel because of over-work, conflict regarding authority over new disaster tasks, and clashes over organizational jurisdictional differences. Co-ordination difficulties come from lack of consensus among organizations, working on common but new disaster-related tasks, and difficulties in achieving overall co-ordination in any community disaster that is of any magnitude. Prior planning can limit these management difficulties but cannot completely eliminate all of them.

Communication of Emergency Public Warnings: A Social Science Perspective and State-of-the-Art Assessment

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New directions in environmental sociology

Abstract: Recent research in environmental sociology is reviewed. Following a brief overview of the development of environmental sociology over the past dec­ ade, five areas of environmental sociological scholarship are discussed: (a) the "new human ecology," (b) environmental attitudes, values, and be­ haviors, (c) the environmental movement, (d) technological risk and risk assessment, and (e) the political economy of the environment and environ­ mental politics. It is argued that while the early environmental sociologists sought nothing less than the reorientation of sociology and social theory, environmental sociology's influence on the discipline has been modest. In­ stead, environmental sociology has steadily taken on characteristics of the discipline as a whole, especially its fragmentation and its dualism between theory and the pursuit of middle-range empirical puzzles. Encouraging ex­ amples of recent work that creatively integrates theory and empirical research in environmental sociology are discussed.

Communicating Scientific Information About Health and Environmental Risks: Problems and Opportunities from a Social and Behavioral Perspective

Abstract: Risk communication takes place in a variety of forms, ranging from product warning labels on cigarette packages and saccharin bottles to interactions between officials and members of the public on such highly charged issues as Love Canal, AIDS, and the accident at Three Mile Island. Recent experience has shown that communicating scientific information about health and environmental risks can be exceedingly difficult and is often frustrating to those involved. Government officials, industry executives, and scientific experts often complain that laypeople do not understand technical risk information and that individual and media biases and limitations lead to distorted and inaccurate perceptions of many risk problems. Individual citizens and representatives of public groups are often equally frustrated, perceiving government and industry officials to be uninterested in their concerns, unwilling to take immediate and direct actions to solve seemingly simple and obvious health and environmental problems, and reluctant or unwilling to allow them to participate in decisions that intimately affect their lives. In this context, the media often play the role of transmitter and translator of information about health and environmental risks, but have been criticized for exaggerating risks and emphasizing drama over scientific facts.

Automation and Accountability in Decision Support System Interface Design

Abstract: When the human element is introduced into decision support system design, entirely new layers of social and ethical issues emerge but are not always recognized as such. This paper discusses those ethical and social impact issues specific to decision support systems and highlights areas that interface designers should consider during design with an emphasis on military applications. Because of the inherent complexity of socio-technical systems, decision support systems are particularly vulnerable to certain potential ethical pitfalls that encompass automation and accountability issues. If computer systems diminish a user’s sense of moral agency and responsibility, an erosion of accountability could result. In addition, these problems are exacerbated when an interface is perceived as a legitimate authority. I argue that when developing human computer interfaces for decision support systems that have the ability to harm people, the possibility exists that a moral buffer, a form of psychological distancing, is created which allows people to ethically distance themselves from their actions.