Public Opinion Factors Regarding Nuclear Power

Public Opinion Factors Regarding Nuclear Power
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 98
Release: 1991
Genre:
ISBN:

This paper is an effort to identify, as comprehensively as possible, public concerns about nuclear power, and to assess, where possible, the relative importance of these concerns as they relate to government regulation of and policy towards nuclear power. It is based on some two dozen in-depth interviews with key communicators representing the nuclear power industry, the environmental community, and government, as well as on the parallel efforts in our research project: (1) review of federal court case law, (2) a selective examination of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) administrative process, and (3) the preceding George Mason University research project in this series. The paper synthesizes our findings about public attitudes towards nuclear power as expressed through federal court case law, NRC administrative law, public opinion surveys, and direct personal interviews. In so doing, we describe the public opinion environment in which the nuclear regulatory process must operate. Our premise is that public opinion ultimately underlies the approaches government agencies take towards regulating nuclear power, and that, to the degree that the nuclear power industry's practices are aligned with public opinion, a more favorable regulatory climate is possible.

Nuclear Power

Nuclear Power
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 234
Release: 1992-02-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309043956

The construction of nuclear power plants in the United States is stopping, as regulators, reactor manufacturers, and operators sort out a host of technical and institutional problems. This volume summarizes the status of nuclear power, analyzes the obstacles to resumption of construction of nuclear plants, and describes and evaluates the technological alternatives for safer, more economical reactors. Topics covered include: Institutional issues-including regulatory practices at the federal and state levels, the growing trends toward greater competition in the generation of electricity, and nuclear and nonnuclear generation options. Critical evaluation of advanced reactors-covering attributes such as cost, construction time, safety, development status, and fuel cycles. Finally, three alternative federal research and development programs are presented.

Japan's Nuclear Future

Japan's Nuclear Future
Author: Emma Chanlett-Avery
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 16
Release: 2010
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1437923240

Contents: (1) Introduction; (2) Background; (3) An Evolving Security Environment in Asia; (4) Japan¿s Nuclear Capacity: Japan¿s Nuclear Energy Program; Technological Potential; (5) Japanese Legal and Political Restraints: (a) Domestic Factors: Public Opinion; Elite Opinions; Constitutional Restraints; 1955 Atomic Energy Basic Law; Three Non-Nuclear Principles; (b) External Factors: International Law; Consequences for Civilian Nuclear Program; International Diplomatic Consequences; (6) Issues for U.S. Policy; U.S. Security Commitment; Potential for Asian Arms Race; U.S.-China Relations; Future of the Korean Peninsula; Japan¿s International Reputation; Damage to Global Non-Proliferation Regime.

Public Reactions to Nuclear Waste

Public Reactions to Nuclear Waste
Author: Riley E. Dunlap
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 1993
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780822313731

Nuclear waste is going nowhere, and neither is the debate over its disposal. The problem, growing every day, has proven intractable, with policymakers on one side, armed with daunting technical data, and the public on the other, declaring: not in my backyard. This timely volume offers a look past our present impasse into the nature and roots of public viewpoints on nuclear waste disposal. A much-needed supplement to the largely technical literature on this problem, the book provides extensive studies of the reaction of citizens--whether rural or urban, near-site residents or prospective visitors--to proposed nuclear waste sites around the nation, particularly Nevada's Yucca Mountain. Conducted by distinguished sociologists, psychologists, political scientists, and economists, these studies constitute the most comprehensive account available of the impact of public perceptions and opinions on the nuclear waste policy process in the United States. As such, the collection will clarify the politics of nuclear waste siting and will give impetus to the stalled debate over the issue. Contributors. Rodney K. Baxter, Julia G. Brody, Bruce Clary, Lori Cramer, William H. Desvousges, Riley E. Dunlap, Douglas Easterling, Judy K. Fleishman, James Flynn, William R. Freudenburg, Michael E. Kraft, Richard S. Krannich, Howard Kunreuther, Mark Layman, Ronald L. Little, Robert Cameron Mitchell, Alvin H. Mushkatel, Joanne M. Nigg, K. David Pijawka, Eugene A. Rosa, Paul Slovic

Public Opinion and Nuclear Power Decision-making

Public Opinion and Nuclear Power Decision-making
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 5
Release: 1991
Genre:
ISBN:

This document discusses public opinion regarding nuclear power which is particularly difficult to tie down because of five important paradoxes that characterize it: it can be based on sound reason, but also on intense emotion; it is both national and local in perspective; at varying times it has seen nuclear power as both ''clean'' and ''dirty''; it believes nuclear power is both economic, and uneconomic; and nuclear power is perceived as having a fairly safe record, but being potentially unsafe. Equally as complex as the process by which public opinion is formed is the process by which it is converted into public policy. The American political system has numerous checks and balances designed to moderate the power of public opinion. A complex series of legislative, judicial, and executive branch hurdles must be cleared before any idea, however popular, can become day-to-day operating reality in government. As a result, major changes in policy or programs are difficult, and we may expect that nuclear power will be no different; radical change in one direction or the other is unlikely. Nevertheless, carefully focused programs could achieve modest progress, and carefully designed public opinion surveys could support such programs.

Nuclear Power Hazard Control Policy

Nuclear Power Hazard Control Policy
Author: John C. Chicken
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1483154637

Nuclear Power Hazard Control Policy presents an analysis of the factors that appear to have influenced the formation and form of nuclear power hazard control policy in Britain. Particular attention is directed to those political groups that have developed a special interest in the problems of nuclear power, and to the interplay between organized groupings and public opinion generally. The metamorphosis of these groupings is traced from the origins of the nuclear industry in World War II to their prominent role during the Windscale Inquiry. This volume is comprised of nine chapters and begins with a simple account of the technical nature of nuclear hazards and of the legal and administrative framework that has been developed to control them. The subsequent chapters concentrate primarily on the influence exerted by social and political factors. Throughout the study, emphasis is given to the policy constraint imposed by increased expectations in the form of demands for higher standards of living, as well as improvements in the quality of the environment. The final chapter describes a model of the policy-making system that takes account of the consequences of variation with time in the environment surrounding the system. Appendices are included to provide a chronology of the relevant events and a summary of the administrative arrangements that various countries have made to control the safety of nuclear reactors. This monograph will be of value to policymakers concerned with the hazards of nuclear power and how to control them.