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Poll: US Nuke Power Anxiety Easing
Index:
Poll: US Nuke Power Anxiety Easing
Nuclear Poll Method
Nuclear Poll Glance
Japan village to hold referendum on nuclear fuel
Village issues plebiscite ordinance for MOX fuel use
General Dynamics bids for Newport News again
==============================
Poll: US Nuke Power Anxiety Easing
WASHINGTON (AP) - April 25 Americans have grown slightly more
comfortable with nuclear power over the past two years, an Associated
Press poll suggests, with half now saying they support using nuclear
plants to produce electricity.
Supporters of nuclear power were significantly more likely than they
were two years ago not to mind a nuclear plant close to their homes.
The poll was conducted for the AP by ICR of Media, Pa.
The support for the nuclear option now being considered by the Bush
administration was strongest among men and those older than 65.
``I think it's a safe way to produce energy,'' said Mike McDonald,
46, a computer consultant from Sparta, Mich.
``It's better than global warming,'' he said, referring to the view
of many scientists that emissions from the burning of fossil fuels
are causing the Earth to warm up.
Fifty percent in the poll supported nuclear power, and a majority of
the supporters, 56 percent, said they wouldn't mind a nuclear plant
within 10 miles of their own home. Three in 10 opposed nuclear power,
and the remainder said they didn't know.
Two years ago, 45 percent said they supported nuclear power, and
fewer than half of those supporters said they would want a nuclear
plant nearby.
In the new poll, some admitted that concerns over energy shortages
and fears of pollution have affected their support for nuclear power.
``They're threatening to start up those plants in California and
that's going to bring more smog and pollution,'' said Verna Clark,
72, a retired hospital worker from Tucson, Ariz. ``I've been liking
nuclear power better and better because as time goes by they're
getting more and more skilled at handling it.''
But concerns remained strong about how to handle radioactive waste
from the power plants.
Almost half said they don't believe nuclear waste can be safely
stored for many years, about the same level as two years ago. The
number who thought it could be stored safely was up slightly to
almost four in 10.
The poll of 1,002 adults was taken April 18 through Monday and had an
error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Support for nuclear power was lowest and fears of nuclear waste were
highest among young adults. The sentiment for nuclear power increased
steadily as the age of poll respondents went up.
``I'm pretty opposed to nuclear energy,'' said Liza Lionetti, 25, an
Internet company employee from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. ``The biggest
issue is the waste products. We bury them and we poison the ground.''
Among the regions, support for nuclear power was strongest in the
energy-starved West, 55 percent. Support for nuclear power tended to
increase with education levels. Republicans were twice as likely as
Democrats to support it, and men were more supportive than women.
Nuclear power plants, which produce 20 percent of the nation's
electricity, are the focus of renewed interest. They have become more
competitive in cost because of rising natural gas prices and growing
concern about pollution from fossil fuel- burning power plants.
The nation's 103 nuclear reactors have increased their power output
by 25 percent over the past decade along with a steadily improving
safety record. A Bush administration energy task force is expected to
conclude next month that nuclear power is essential in meeting the
nation's energy needs and recommend ways to increase nuclear energy
production.
No new nuclear plant has been ordered and completed since 1973 and
while utilities are determined to run their current reactors longer,
no new orders are expected anytime soon.
In 1989, an AP poll showed that a clear majority, 55 percent,
supported nuclear power. But the sentiment for nuclear power dwindled
in the 1990s, before the latest renewal of interest.
The slightly improved climate for nuclear power hasn't eased the
doubts of some, although two-thirds said they think nuclear power is
safer now than it was 10 years ago.
The numbers who think a nuclear accident at a power plant is likely
has dwindled slightly from half two years ago, to just over four in
10 now.
``I'm not in favor of nuclear power due largely to the fact that
there's always the chance for error,'' said Dale Buchanan, 51, a
machine operator from Belleville, Pa. He lives about 60 miles from
Three Mile Island, site of the nation's worst nuclear accident in
1979.
``The closer to home it gets,'' Buchanan said, ``the more you think
about it.''
---------------
Nuclear Poll Method
The Associated Press poll on nuclear power is based on telephone
interviews with 1,002 randomly selected adults from all states except
Alaska and Hawaii. The interviewing was conducted April 18-23 by ICR,
of Media, Pa.
The results were weighted to represent the population by key
demographic factors such as age, sex, region and education.
No more than one time in 20 should chance variations in the sample
cause the results to vary by more than 3 percentage points from the
answers that would be obtained if all Americans were polled.
This margin of sampling error is larger for responses of subgroups,
such as income categories. There are other sources of potential error
in polls, including the wording and order of questions.
The AP poll questions (because of rounding, sums may not total 100
percent):
1. Do you support or oppose using nuclear power to generate
electricity? Support, 50 percent; oppose, 30 percent; don't know, 19
percent; refused to answer, 1 percent.
2. (Asked only of the 518 respondents who support nuclear power)
Would you support or oppose the construction of a nuclear power plant
within 10 miles of your home? Support, 55 percent; oppose, 40
percent; Don't know, 5 percent.
3. Do you think nuclear power plants in the United States are safer
now than they were 10 years ago, or not? Safer, 65 percent; not
safer, 18 percent; don't know, 17 percent.
4. Do you think radioactive waste from nuclear power plants can be
safely stored for many years, or not? Yes, 37 percent; no, 45
percent; don't know, 18 percent.
5. How would you rate the likelihood of a serious accident at a
nuclear power plant in the United States - highly likely, likely,
unlikely or highly unlikely? Highly likely, 11 percent; likely 33
percent; unlikely, 29 percent; highly unlikely, 21 percent; don't
know, 6 percent.
---------------
Nuclear Poll Glance
Some details on demographic preferences from an Associated Press poll
question about support for nuclear power to generate energy. The
error margin for the poll of 1,002 adults taken April 18-23 is plus
or minus 3 percentage points, larger for subgroups. When results
don't total 100 percent, the remainder either didn't know or refused
to answer.
Do you support or oppose using nuclear power to generate electricity?
BY GENDER
Men
Support, 63 percent
Oppose, 27 percent
Women
Support, 38 percent
Oppose, 33 percent
BY INCOME
Under $25,000
Support, 37 percent
Oppose, 39 percent
>From $25,000 to $49,900
Support, 52 percent
Oppose, 30 percent
>From $50,000 to $74,900
Support, 58 percent
Oppose, 20 percent
$75,000 and over
Support, 61 percent
Oppose, 26 percent
BY RACE
White
Support, 54 percent
Oppose, 27 percent
Black
Support, 27 percent
Oppose, 46 percent
BY PARTY ID
Democrats
Support, 39 percent
Oppose, 39 percent
Republicans
Support, 68 percent
Oppose, 20 percent
Independents
Support, 49 percent
Oppose, 30 percent
-------------
Japan village to hold referendum on nuclear fuel
TOKYO, April 25 (Reuters) - Amid mounting anti-nuclear feeling in
Japan, a northern village will hold a rare referendum next month to
decide on the use of recycled nuclear fuel in a local power plant, a
local official said on Wednesday.
The vote, which will not be legally binding, will be held on May 27
and will address whether Japan's largest power utility, Tokyo
Electric Power Co Inc (TEPCO), should be allowed to use the fuel at
its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Kariwa on the Sea of Japan coast, the
official said.
Village leader Hiroo Shinada took the decision to hold the referendum
for Kariwa's 4,141 eligible voters, the official said.
"I believe Mr Shinada made the decision to hold the referendum after
giving the matter very serious thought," TEPCO President Nobuya
Minami said in a statement. "TEPCO will... put all its efforts into
gaining understanding for... the fuel."
The use of MOX -- a blend of uranium and plutonium recycled from
spent nuclear fuel -- in conventional reactors is a cornerstone of
Japan's energy policy. The resource-poor country depends on nuclear
energy for a third of its power needs.
Anti-nuclear campaigners say TEPCO would find it difficult to ignore
the result of the vote even if it is not binding.
"If the majority vote against the use of MOX, the power company can
hardly take a step that goes against their wishes," said Baku Nishio
of the Citizens Nuclear Information Centre.
The referendum itself indicated that there is probably widespread
opposition to the use of the nuclear fuel, he said.
Rising public pressure has left the industry behind schedule in plans
to begin commercial use of MOX, initially set for 1999.
Critics charge that Mox fuel is dangerous and does not make economic
sense because it is more expensive than conventional nuclear fuel.
A string of nuclear accidents in recent years has bolstered their
cause and seriously eroded public faith in Japan's nuclear industry.
TEPCO had aimed to load the fuel at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant's
1,100 megawatt (MW) No 3 reactor during a maintenance closure between
April 17 and July 13.
A spokesman said a final decision on whether to load MOX fuel or
conventional nuclear fuel would be made by mid-June.
Last week, TEPCO said it had decided not to load MOX fuel at its
Fukushima No 1 nuclear power plant in northern Japan during a current
maintenance closure.
In February, the Fukushima governor said he would not allow the use
of the fuel, noting deep-seated public opposition.
DEEPSEATED PUBLIC DISTRUST
Japan's worst nuclear accident occurred on September 1999 at a
uranium processing facility run by JCO Co Ltd in Tokaimura, 140 km
(90 miles) northeast of Tokyo, exposing plant workers, emergency
personnel and hundreds of residents to radiation.
Workers at the plant used a bucket to mistakenly load nearly eight
times the safe amount of condensed uranium into a mixing tank,
triggering a self-sustaining nuclear reaction that took 20 hours to
bring under control. Two workers later died.
Even before the Tokaimura accident, public distrust in the nuclear
industry was rife.
Japan held its first-ever referendum, in August 1996, on whether to
allow construction of a nuclear power plant in the small coastal
farming town of Maki in northern Japan.
The town's 23,000 people voted overwhelmingly against Tohoku Electric
Power Co Inc's plan to build the 825 MW plant.
Tohoku Electric vowed at the time to forge ahead with the plan. But a
spokesman for the utility, Japan's fourth-largest, said on Wednesday
it had decided last year to postpone commercial operation of the
plant until the business year 2012/13.
He cited the company's failure to acquire all the land it needed for
the plant as a reason. Tohoku Electric has 96 percent of the required
land, no more than it had in 1996, he said.
"We also believe we need more time to win the understanding of local
people," he added.
Since the vote in Maki, more referendums have been held.
Last year, residents in Tokushima Prefecture, on western Shikoku
island, rejected a dam in the first referendum ever held on a public
works project.
"The referendum provides a means for local people to express their
views, and as such it is important," Ban said.
--------------
Village issues plebiscite ordinance for MOX fuel use
NIIGATA, Japan, April 25 (Kyodo) - The village of Kariwa in Niigata
Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast issued an ordinance Wednesday
allowing a plebiscite to be held on a plan to use plutonium-uranium
mixed oxide (MOX) fuel at a local nuclear plant.
The village assembly passed the ordinance April 18 to hold a
plebiscite on the plan to use MOX fuel at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s
Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, and the village decided Tuesday to hold the
voting May 27.
The plebiscite will be the first to be conducted in Japan in which
the opinion of local residents over the use of MOX fuel at a local
nuclear plant will be sought, village officials said.
In the plebiscite, the voters will indicate whether they approve,
oppose or are reserved about the electric company's plan to introduce
a so-called pluthermal process at the plant's No.3 reactor.
The process entails using MOX fuel -- made by mixing uranium with
plutonium chemically extracted from spent nuclear fuel -- to power a
thermal reactor.
The village assembly and Mayor Hiroo Shinada are obliged to honor the
result of the voting, the ordinance said. Shinada said at a news
conference Wednesday that he will do so.
As of March 19, there were 4,141 eligible voters in the village,
village officials said.
In March 1999, the Kariwa village assembly rejected a petition
calling for a plebiscite on the issue. In December last year,
however, the assembly passed a similar bill submitted by assembly
members, but Shinada vetoed it and ordered the assembly to vote
again. The bill was rejected in January.
The ordinance finally passed the assembly April 18 after a group of
village residents and assembly members filed an official petition
with Shinada on March 29 asking that the village establish an
ordinance to allow the plebiscite. The petition was signed by 1,540
eligible voters, 37% of the total eligible voters in the village.
---------------
General Dynamics bids for Newport News again
NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - General Dynamics Corp. <GD.N> on
Wednesday said it would buy rival shipmaker Newport News Shipbuilding
Inc. <NNS.N> for $2.1 billion in cash, creating the only U.S. builder
of aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy.
General Dynamics' bid comes amid renewed consolidation in the defense
industry, following Northrop Grumman Corp.'s <NOC.N> $3.8 billion
purchase last year of shipbuilder Litton Industries. The deal, if
approved by regulators, would leave only two major U.S. contractors
for naval military ships.
Under terms of the transaction, General Dynamics will pay $67.50 for
each of Newport News' 31.9 million shares outstanding and assume
about $500 million in Newport News debt. The offer represents a 23
percent premium to Newport News' closing stock price of $55.05 on
Tuesday.
General Dynamics said the boards of both companies have approved the
transaction, which isn't expected to involve the closing of any
shipyards. The companies expect to complete the acquisition in the
third quarter.
"This acquisition will provide Newport News shareholders an
attractive price, and our employees will benefit from being part of a
larger, more diverse company," said William Fricks, chairman and
chief executive of Newport News.
SECOND TRY
The planned acquisition would be the second attempt by General
Dynamics to buy Newport News. The first bid, announced in 1999, was
nixed by the U.S. Department of Defense because it would have created
a monopoly builder of attack submarines and would leave only one
company in charge of nuclear work.
The earlier proposal was valued at about $1.8 billion. Neither
company immediately commented on potential antitrust concerns, though
industry experts have speculated the Bush administration would be
more open to defense mergers.
General Dynamics' new offer comes less than a month after Northrop
completed its acquisition of Litton Industries, the largest builder
of non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy. It also comes as regulators
scrutinize General Electric Co.'s <GE.N> proposed acquisition of
Honeywell International Inc. <HON.N>
Newport News' business of building nuclear powered aircraft carriers
and submarines for the U.S. Navy would complement General Dynamics'
Marine Systems operation.
Both companies produce Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack
submarines. The aircraft carrier program at Newport News could
combine with General Dynamics' battleships and auxiliary ship
production.
The tender offer for Newport News shares is scheduled to begin within
seven business days, General Dynamics said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100
Director, Technical Extension 2306
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service Fax:(714) 668-3149
ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc. E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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