Perceptions of industrial and nuclear risks. Skates, negotiations and social development of levels of risks acceptance ; Perceptions des risques industriels et nucléaires. Enjeux, négociations et construction sociale des seuils d'acceptation des risques

Abstract

In this thesis we will question the perceptions of industrial risks in the occidental world at the beginning of the 21st century. For this purpose we will try to understand how concepts such as sustainable development, precautionary principle, liability, or even zero-risk bias have progressively developed around a thought model based on the scientific rationality. This model is now undermined by its incapacity to fully address the issues it raises and completely avoid the potential risks. However, despite consistent weaknesses, it remains a reference value moulded by past accidents which have led to the making of laws aiming mainly at defining liability and protecting those who are held liable. Thus, public information becomes a requirement for democracy and the protection of this thought model. In this context, the protagonists at stake are security-conscious, economical and political lobbies that constantly redefine the limits of risk acceptance. We come to the realization that our lifestyle and value system remain unchallenged even though undergoing a crisis. The specificity of this research lies into the importance we give to the local approach, dealing with registered Seveso sites and nuclear plants located in Indre et Loire. We have polled five categories of respondents through interviews or questionnaires in order to understand their opinion regarding situations involving technological risks. The result of this survey helps us understand and set the levels of risk acceptance that they define with regard to the industrial risks and show the complexity of a situation involving political stakes, environmental pressures, a profit-driven economy and security constraints, in a vague and complex context. This work gives us a contrasted picture of today's perceptions of risks. ; Dans ce travail de thèse, nous interrogeons les perceptions des risques industriels dans les pays occidentaux en ce début de XXIème siècle. Nous cherchons à comprendre comment des concepts de développement durable, de principe de ...