NucNet News No. 335 -- Oct. 21 2002
New US Poll Shows Growing Public Support for Nuclear Energy
Results of a new opinion poll in the US show that public support for nuclear
energy continues to grow steadily - with a record number of respondents saying
they now 'strongly' support its use.
The latest poll, carried out by Bisconti Research Inc with Roper ASW on behalf
of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), shows that 65% of those questioned say
they "favour" the use of nuclear energy for electricity production in the US,
compared to 31% who say they are "opposed". The remaining 4% had no clear view either way.
The overall number in favour is just 1% lower than the record all-time high of
66% recorded last February. Support for nuclear has risen fairly steadily since
1995, but surged in early 2001 at the time the new US administration began
developing its National Energy Plan. It has remained at or near record high
levels since then, except for a slight decline in June of this year.
Of the 65% who favoured nuclear energy, 35% said they "strongly" favoured it,
compared to 15% who were "strongly opposed" - the most significant gap between
the two camps at any stage in the past two decades.
Overall, 76% of those surveyed said nuclear power should play an "important"
role in meeting future US energy needs - the highest level of support since the
question was first asked in 1989. The number who believed nuclear should play a
"very important" role also increased, to 42% of the total. By comparison, 20%
believed it should not play an important role.
When asked about building new nuclear plants, 70% agreed that the US should
"keep the option" to do so, and 55% believed new plants should "definitely" be
built. Asked whether it would be "acceptable" to build a new plant near to
existing nuclear plants, 55% said yes.
In another indication of increased support for nuclear, 82% said that licence
renewals for existing plants should be granted, provided they continue to meet
federal safety standards.
The telephone poll, involving a nationally representative sample of 1000 adults,
was carried out between 4th and 6th October, and has a margin of error of 3%.
Source: NEI / Bisconti Research
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