"... it remains to be seen whether the 'nuclear village' [of STS scholars] is ready to collaborate in the international governance of nuclear emergencies" (Schmid, 207)
"... nuclear emergency preparedness has hardly gained traction." (Schmid, 200)
"In high-risk industries... safety sometimes gets pitted against profitability..." (Schmid, 199)
I further examined the course of events and response to the nuclear disaster at Fukushima. I also drew upon my knowledge of how the UN works to investigate how they would be able to assist in response to emergencies of the nuclear type. I also looked at how the nuclear reactor near my home town prepares citizens in its immediate vicinity for emergencies related to it.
Dr. Schmid supports her point of view by discussing the flaws in the current system, such as how responses tend to only cause reforms at an organizational level rather than internationally. She also discusses how incorporating civilian education can help ease fears and improve how civilians react to incidents. Finally, she mentions various agencies that could organize international nuclear response, supporting her argument that it is possible bring together more people that just those who are technically elite.
By examining the bibliography, it appears that this report was produced after the author conducted a great deal of research including interviewing other experts in the field and reading many other texts on the subject. One could also gather that the author examined publications by agencies relevant to the topic such as theIAEA and the US NRC.
Dr Schmid discusses her view that the engineers and scientists should not be the only people looking at the response to a nuclear incident. She believes that nuclear response teams need to move away from those in the late 1900s, in which a select technically-competent few were in charge of maintaining the safety and security of nuclear facilities, to those that bring together scholars, technical experts, and international relief organizations to educate the public and determine what is in the best interest of the residents of the area as well as society in general. Dr. Schmid believes that scholarship in science, technology, society studies applies to this situation and can be a great help in determining future actions.
Outside of this class and STS 6834 at Virgina Tech, it was difficult to find other places where this article was referenced. Because the article was published as part of a collection of articles related to this same topic, I assume that those who purchase the book for educational and research purposes read and discus the article at some length.
Sonja Schmid, PhD is an associate professor in STS at Virginia Tech's National Capital Region Campus. She specializes in science and technology policy, nuclear emergency response, the nuclear industries in the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Dr. Schmid researches how entities, ranging from local municipalities to nation-states, respond in the event of a nuclear emergency. She is not personally involved in the initial emergency response; however, she researchers previous emergency responses and advises on how to reduce the consequences of nuclear disaster. She is also currently working on an NSF-supported project to "investigate the challenges of globalizing nuclear emergency response," as a part of which, she organized a monthly speaker series that focuses on research and education related to nuclear emergency response.
All above information sourced from http://www.sts.vt.edu/faculty/sschmid/ unless otherwise noted.
Dr. Schmid discusses emergency response to nuclear incidents, albeit at a very high level. She deals much more with the large scale factors involved in responding to an incident rather than the individual locality. She also addresses the importance of international NGOs in assisting locals after the first-responders have done what they can.
Dr. Schmid used a variety of sources and methods to produce her report. She pulled a lot of information from other essays, whether they be directly relating to the Fukushima incident or nuclear safety and preparedness in general. She also conducted communication with a number of other researchers and experts in the field. Additionally, she pulled a great deal from IAEA documents and US NRC publications.