ABSTRACT
This case study examines the Swedish Nuclear Inspectorate's and Sydkraft's successful communication and management strategy in the aftermath of an INES 2 (nuclear accident of the second lowest severity) incident at the Barsebäck nuclear power plant in southern Sweden in 1992. Sydkraft (the owner of the nuclear plant) and special interest groups, such as Greenpeace Denmark, felt that the Inspectorate handled the situation, that of a near-miss meltdown of a reactor after a filter blockage, properly. The example is all the more striking because a technocratic form of risk management was used, with virtually no involvement of the public or special interest groups in the policy-making process. In addition, a top-down form of risk communication strategy was put in place rather than a dialogue form.
