Yes, In My Backyard!

A new study shows that those who live closest to nuclear power plants are amongst the most supportive of nuclear power, and more supportive than the general public for adding new reactors at sites across America.

A new study shows that those who live closest to nuclear power plants are amongst the most supportive of nuclear power, and more supportive than the general public in adding reactors at nuclear power plant sites across America. Last month, the Nuclear Energy Institute commissioned a survey of residents within a 10-mile radius of the United States’ 64 nuclear power plant sites, excluding respondents who worked for utilities companies. Among the results: 90% have a favorable impression of the nearby nuclear power plants, 84% favor the use of nuclear energy, and 88% rated the safety of their nearby plant as high (five to seven on a seven-point scale). Interestingly, respondents were also quite satisfied with the firms running the nuclear power plants: 91% were confident in their relevant company’s ability to operate a nuclear power plant safely, 86% believed that the company is doing a good job of protecting the environment, and 83% believe that the company is involved in the community. Perhaps most insightful was the finding that 76% of respondents felt it was acceptable to add a new reactor to their local nuclear power plant site. This figure is significantly higher than the general public’s figure for the same question, which stood at 70%. One might thus think that these results are counter-intuitive. However, the peculiarity of these figures is grounded in a false conception of the risks surrounding nuclear power. Historically, those who have sought to promote nuclear energy have found themselves frustrated by the "stigma that has existed since the Three Mile Island incident," says Steven Everley, a policy advisor to American Solutions, of which Newt Gingrich is the chairman. The anti-nuclear sentiment that arose after that incident (and the unfortunate timing behind the release of The China Syndrome) persists in some quarters to this day, despite the relatively low risk that actually lies in the generation of nuclear power. After all, the Three Mile Island accident, a so-called ‘nuclear disaster,’ had negligible effects on the health of those who lived in the area. Indeed, the Presidential Commission ordered to investigate the effects of the event concluded that "there will either be no case of cancer or the number of cases will be so small that it will never be possible to detect them. The same conclusion applies to the other possible health effects." As David Frum points out in How We Got Here: The 70s, the anti-nuclear sentiment of today is rooted in "the conviction that nature is benign and science is dangerous." That this conviction is not held by those who are most invested in the risks of nuclear energy is insightful. This new survey data shows that those who live closest to nuclear power plants are also those who best understand that the results of nuclear power are overwhelmingly positive: American energy independence, jobs and clean air.