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To investigate changes in college student perceptions of radiation over time, we performed questionnaire surveys in November 1992 and January 2000. The subjects were students of the humanities or social sciences, numbering 290 (19.1±1.1 y) in 1992 and 226 (19.9±2.0 y) in 2000. The questionnaires had two sections. First, the students were asked to list words which they associated with the stimulus word“radiation”. Next, they performed a ten stage-evaluation (0 to 10 points) of the degree of“familiarity”, “danger”, “usefulness”, and“acceptability”with regard to 26 items which included radiation and things related to radiation. In both surveys, the top three responses to the stimulus word“radiation”, were“roentgen”, “atomic bomb”, and“nuclear power”. The students in 2000 associated the word“radiation”with words such as“Tokaimura”which were related to recent accidents. The evaluation ratings of“familiarity”, “usefulness”, and“acceptability”for nuclear power changed significantly between 1992 and 2000 (p