Since the beginning of 1986, IRSN conducts a yearly survey designed to understand how the French population perceives risk: the IRSN barometer (ref 1,2). In this survey, the society and environmental concerns are ranked. The main part of the survey concerns 27 risks which are investigated from three different angles:

• The perceived seriousness of the risk

• Confidence in the authorities

• Truthfulness of the information given about these risks —

The 27 risks include situations widely covered by the media (traffic accidents, smoking, alcohol, etc.), as well as situations of which the public can be unaware (such as...