The Community Environmental Monitoring Program: Reducing Public Perception of Risk through Stakeholder Involvement

The Community Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) has promoted stakeholder involvement, awareness, and understanding of radiological surveillance in communities surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS) since 1981. It involves stakeholders in the operation, data collection, and dissemination of information obtained from a network of 29 stations across a wide area of Nevada, Utah and California. It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration´s Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO) and administered by the Desert Research Institute (DRI) of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Integration of a near real-time communications system, a public Web site, training workshops for involved stakeholders, and educational programs all help to alleviate public perception of risk of health effects from past activities conducted at the NTS.