Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) is now a pertinent energy-related matter since most of the nuclear reactors built during nuclear renaissance will soon reach the end of their operational life. Drawing on the theoretical framework based on elements of the Value-Belief-Norm theory, psychometric paradigm, deliberative theories of democracy and in the levels of participation as defined by Arnstein's ladder, this is the first large-scale study addressing the question of who is willing to participate in decommissioning-related decision-making procedures. Data for this study were collected via a large public opinion survey (N = 1028) in Belgium in 2015, and were analyzed using Structural Equations Modelling (SEM) as a method.

Results show that interest on the topic of decommissioning as well as radiological risk perception have direct effects on participation intention. Furthermore, we found that low trust in the nuclear industry, being ideologically leftist, having more negative attitudes towards nuclear energy, and living in the vicinity of a nuclear installation influences participation intention indirectly, through interest and risk perception. Based on these findings we point out to some challenges that can appear in decision-making processes and some recommendations on how to prevent or solve them.

核电站 (NPP) 的退役现在是一个与能源相关的问题，因为在核复兴期间建造的大多数核反应堆将很快达到其运行寿命的终点。借鉴基于价值-信念-规范理论、心理测量范式、协商民主理论以及阿恩斯坦阶梯定义的参与水平等要素的理论框架，这是第一个解决谁是谁的问题的大规模研究。愿意参与退役相关的决策程序。本研究的数据是通过 2015 年在比利时进行的大型民意调查 (N = 1028) 收集的，并使用结构方程建模 (SEM) 作为方法进行分析。

结果表明，对退役话题的兴趣以及辐射风险感知对参与意愿有直接影响。此外，我们发现对核工业的信任度低、意识形态上偏左、对核能的态度更消极、居住在核设施附近，通过兴趣和风险感知间接影响参与意愿。基于这些发现，我们指出了决策过程中可能出现的一些挑战，以及有关如何预防或解决这些挑战的一些建议。