The Working Group in Public Communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (WGPC), which was set up by the Committee on Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) in 2001, provided a forum for nuclear regulatory organisation communicators and outreach officers to exchange information, experience, and practices. It also aimed to exchange views regarding the policies of nuclear regulatory organisations in the area of public communication and identified ways of promoting efficient collaboration between member countries.

Since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in March 2011, the need for Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (NROs) to enhance their communication abilities, not only during crises but also in their day-to-day activities, has been the focus of many discussions. An NRO’s basic objective of communication is to keep the public informed about the facts on nuclear safety and its own role in controlling their operation using radiation or radioactive substances. Consequently, proactive communications, both internally (NRO staff) and externally (target audiences) must be a priority. Regular communication with stakeholders and target audiences helps build trust and reduce the risk of misunderstanding fed by fear and rumor.

WGPC activities focused on:

• The biannual exchanges of information, experiences and practices on public communication between member-states during the WGPC plenary meetings;
• The development of specific tasks with practical implementation tools to enhance the international collaboration in the area of public communication of nuclear regulators;
• The reflection on the cultural and regional differences in communication approaches between regulators through the organisation of country-specific case study workshops;
• The continuous engagement with other NEA working groups and technical committees to discuss issues identified by the group that have cross-cutting interests;
• The gathering of experiences and lessons learnt for internal and external communication in emergency or exceptional times (such as the Covid-19 pandemic).

The activities of this Working Group are completed.

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