Nuclear seen as 'part of the landscape'

Wednesday, 1 October 2008

Local residents may view their local nuclear power station as familiar and unremarkable, but reactor builders beware: they will not support new build unconditionally, and their support could easily be eroded. So warns a new in-depth UK study. 

 

The study, Living with Nuclear Power in Britain: A Mixed Methods Study, is based on five years of research led by Nick Pidgeon of Cardiff University and Karen Henwood and Peter Simmons of the University of East Anglia. Using a combination of in-depth interviews and surveys of residents living near the Bradwell, Hinkley Point and Oldbury nuclear power plants, the research team attempted to 

It takes all sorts   Four opinion categories were identified through the research.   Beneficial and Safe (34%): See nuclear power as beneficial, highly trusting of local plant operators to make sure plants operate safely.   Threat and Distrust (16%): Believe that risks of nuclear outweigh benefits, highly distrustful of nuclear industry and government, consider that use of nuclear power should be stopped.   Reluctant Acceptance (38%): Conditionally supportive of nuclear power, seeing it as having drawbacks but being necessary to address climate change and national energy security.   No Point Worrying (12%): Regard the power station as 'just part of the landscape’. Critical of government, the nuclear industry and regulators but feel that risks are exaggerated by the media. Have little sympathy for critics of nuclear power.

investigate how people living in close proximity to nuclear sites perceive risks presented by the installation and how they "live with risk" in their everyday lives. In total, 145 people were interviewed at length in two research phases, followed up by a survey of 1326 households.

 

The generally positive attitude of local residents is often noted within the nuclear industry and is sometimes cited as one reason for choosing existing nuclear power sites as locations for new reactors. However, the authors point out that little research has been done on the perceptions of nuclear power in host communities in the UK since the 1980s. With the UK pursuing nuclear new build, knowledge and understanding of the opinions and perceptions of communities close to potential nuclear sites will be crucial.

 

Broadly speaking, people living near nuclear power plants tend to see them as a familiar, ordinary part of the fabric of their life and community, but external events such as terrorist activity in other parts of the world - whether nuclear-related or not - can cause them anxiety about the plant they live close to. When it comes to trust, they tend to be very trusting of the local plant operators, although the study found quite strong distrust of the nuclear industry in general, the government and national regulators in some areas.

 

Would-be nuclear builders must not take local support for granted, the report warns. Despite their acceptance of their local nuke as a familiar and integral part of their locality, communities will not give unquestioning support to new-build plans without being fully consulted and involved in the process. "Failing to consult in a proper manner, or in a way that does not fully recognise and respond to a local population's ambivalences and concerns, would almost certainly serve also to undermine local confidence, something which has clearly been painstakingly built up in all locations studied over a considerable period of time," the report concludes.

 

Pro, anti, or in between?

 

The in-depth interviews revealed four broad points of view on nuclear. The later surveys categorised respondents according to which point of view they identified with (see panel). While only 16% could be classed as falling into the "threat and distrust" category, the study has also concluded that the "landscape of beliefs" about nuclear power does not conform to simple pro- and anti-nuclear opposites. Even amongst those that are accepting of a nuclear power station in their midst support for nuclear is conditional, and could easily be lost. "One implication here is that if people consider that future plans for local development of nuclear power (if they ever do arise) are not delivering on the outstanding issues that concern them, or if there is a major nuclear accident anywhere over the ensuing 5-10 years, then local confidence and trust could be lost and a very concerted level of opposition might quickly arise," the authors warn.