ABSTRACT
The actual risk of an event is not always consistent with how the public perceives that risk. In recent years, we have witnessed an increasing number of “low-risk” environmental projects which have triggered high levels of public anger. The process through which low-risk projects generate high-risk perceptions is referred to as the “social amplification of risk.” This chapter applies this concept to the exploration of the mechanism of risk-induced social amplification through two examples of local public opposition to nuclear power plants in Shandong. Through in-depth interviews, content analysis, and discourse analysis, we have discovered that risks are amplified mainly through the influence of three factors: information processing; institutional structure; and individual response.
