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http://dx.doi.org/10.7731/KIFSE.2019.33.5.094

Risk Perception of the Firefighters Responsible for Nuclear Power Plants: Construct Validity  

Choi, HaeYoun (Department of Counseling, Korea Counseling Graduate University)
Lee, SangKyu (Department of Reactor System Evaluation, Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety)
Choi, Jong-An (Department of Psychology, Kangwon National University)
Publication Information
Fire Science and Engineering / v.33, no.5, 2019 , pp. 94-102 More about this Journal
Abstract
As the importance of first responses for fire accidents has grown in the safety management of nuclear power plants, a systematic approach to measure firefighters' psychological states and competence is needed. The current study investigated the construct of the risk perception of the firefighters working near nuclear power plant sites, and then developed and validated a new scale to measure firefighters' risk perception regarding nuclear power plant accidents. The scale items were developed on the basis of literature review and interviews with the firefighters working near nuclear power plant sites. In order to validate the new scale, we recruited 180 firefighters from five fire stations in the vicinity of the nuclear power plants in Jeonnam Province, Gyeongbuk Province, and Busan. The results of exploratory factor analyses revealed that the scale consisted of five factors: "manual" reflecting a lack of response guidelines and manuals for fire incidents and radioactive material release; "fear" reflecting a fear of fire incidents in the nuclear power plants and their catastrophic consequences; "resource" reflecting a lack of protective equipment and manpower for responding to fire incidents in the nuclear power plants; "trust" reflecting trust and cooperation with the counterpart institutions for firefighting in the nuclear power plants; and "knowledge" reflecting the knowledge of radioactivity and firefighting in the nuclear power plants. Further analyses provided statistical evidence supporting for the 15-item scale's internal consistency and construct validity. Finally, We discussed the implication and limitations of the current research.
Keywords
Risk perception; Firefighter; Fire events; Nuclear power plants; Construct validation;
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