Russian scientist dispels nuclear energy fears

Fear of the nuclear power engineering industry is thickest where nuclear power installations do not exist and where no plans to build them have been made. The opinion was voiced by Alexander Prudnik, Senior Researcher of the Sociology Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (the Nizhny Novgorod branch), BelTA has learned.

The scientist said that residents of Sverdlovsk Oblast and Murmansk Oblast had been polled. Nuclear power plants are located in these areas and the results of the polls are quite informative. The data indicates that the people have a positive attitude towards nuclear power engineering as a whole and towards the power plants located in their regions. Fear of the nuclear power engineering industry is thickest where such facilities do not exist and will not be built. According to the research, the fear stems from subconscious phobias shaped by mass media. In other words, the fear is generated by the lack of personal experience, stressed the source.

When the object of fear is no longer virtual but real, other cognition mechanisms kick in, believes Alexander Prudnik. “Personal experience and one’s own evaluations come to the forefront. The sufficiently long problem-free coexistence alongside the object of past fears can drastically reduce the level of disturbing expectations. A nuclear power plant then becomes just another part of human lives. Not just part of the routine but a necessary part. Negative responses can then be generated not by the existence of the facility but by the hypothetical possibility of the facility’s shutting down. The mechanism of internal protest against the shutdown of nuclear power plants or the decommissioning of nuclear power-generating units has been witnessed in areas around the nuclear power plants in Ignalina (Lithuania) and Kozloduy (Bulgaria),” said the scientist.

It is worth mentioning that people, who are now enthusiastic about the operation of nuclear power installations, used to demonstrate totally opposite attitudes coupled with the full range of fears when the possibility of building the installations was discussed, added the source.

Thus, mass phobias regarding nuclear power engineering are irrational while the positive attitude towards the industry is based on rational reasons, he concluded.

As many as 67% of Russia’s Sverdlovsk Oblast’s population approve of using nuclear energy for generating electricity according to the poll published by the independent business research agency Remarket. In late 2013 the agency polled residents of Sverdlovsk Oblast to learn their attitude towards the nuclear power engineering industry in the region.

Social scientists estimate that the share of Russian citizens, who are positive towards Russian nuclear power plants, stands at 72%. As many as 41% of those polled spoke in favor of vigorously developing the industry, while 31% would like the pace to stay unchanged, and only 5% are in favor of phasing out nuclear power completely.

According to a similar poll conducted in Murmansk Oblast, 75% of the residents of the region approve of nuclear power engineering for electricity generation. As many as 41% are in favor of going full throttle with the development of nuclear power engineering in Murmansk Oblast while 37% of those polled would like it to stay the way it is. Only 2% of those polled reject nuclear power engineering completely.