Half of respondents would support building more nuclear power stations, but concerns over waste management remain high.
Many people in Britain remain open to an expansion of nuclear power in the country, but a large proportion of respondents are worried about issues such as nuclear waste management, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, of 2,011 British adults, 51per cent of respondents support building more nuclear power stations in the UK, while 31 per cent are opposed.
Residents of the South (56%) and the North (54%) are slightly more open to an expansion of nuclear energy than those in London (48%), Midlands and Wales (46%) and Scotland (45%).
Across Britain, 44 per cent of respondents believe the UK should further pursue its nuclear energy capabilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while 37 per cent would focus on other carbon-free sources of energy.
Three-in-five Britons (75%) are “very concerned” or “moderately concerned” about nuclear waste management, while two-thirds are worried about health risks for communities that are close to a nuclear power station (68%), nuclear technology falling into the hands of extremists (67%) and an accident at a nuclear power plant (67%).
Since the last Angus Reid Public Opinion survey conducted in November 2009, the level of support for building new nuclear power stations has dropped by four points. However, opposition to this course of action is stable (32% in November 2009, 31% this month).
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CONTACT:
Andy Morris, Research Director, London
+ 44-207-065-7272
andy.morris@angus-reid.com
Methodology: From July 1 to July 3, 2010, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 2,011 randomly selected British adults who are Springboard UK panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.2% for the entire sample. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
