Belarus opinion survey: Lower energy costs among main advantages of nuclear power

01.03.2017

The main advantage of using nuclear power is the opportunity to lower energy cost, Yelena Martishchenkova, a researcher at the Department of Sociology at the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB), said during an online press conference hosted by BelTA when commenting on the results of an opinion survey on nuclear energy in Belarus.

The survey has shown that the opinions about the pros and cons of using nuclear energy are very diverse. Respondents most often mentioned that they see advantages in the following: lower energy costs for households – 45.5%, new jobs – 28.8%, stronger energy independence – 23%, reduction of energy imports – 21.1%, improved energy security – 18.2%, export of surplus energy – 11.5%. Some 17% of respondents said they do not see any pros.

When assessing the disadvantages of nuclear power, people named three types of concerns: the risk of an accident – 56.3%, radioactive waste disposal – 49.9%, environmental degradation – 31.3%.

“To get a better understanding of the motives and the specifics of the positive or negative attitude of respondents towards Belarus’ own nuclear power plant, we included a question “Will the launch of the Belarusian nuclear power plant improve the environmental situation?”. The data obtained shows that, unfortunately, most people do not know the environmental advantages of using nuclear power plants over other types of electricity generating facilities,” Yelena Martishchenkova said.

For instance, around a half of those surveyed believe that the launch of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will improve the environment in the country. The majority of those supporting this viewpoint are residents of Minsk (69%). Most of the respondents who agreed that energy generated by nuclear power plants is more environmentally-friendly compared to other kinds of energy live in Mogilev Oblast (33.8% against the national average of 21.8%).

Lilia Dulinets, Deputy Director of the Nuclear Energy Department at the Belarusian Energy Ministry, commented on the results of the survey and said that it is necessary to raise public awareness of the environmental advantages of nuclear power plants over other power generating facilities. “We need to convey to people that man-made impact on people and the environment in the production of electric power and other types of energy is unavoidable, and the task is to reduce this impact as much as possible. From this point of view, nuclear power is the most environmentally-friendly kind of energy available today,” she stressed.

“We should demonstrate to people, based on facts, that thermal power stations which use fuel oil, coal or natural gas emit pollutants into the air: carbon dioxide that is the major contributor to the greenhouse effect and cause of global warming, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide that causes acid rains, and nitrogen oxides. Nuclear power plants do not emit such pollutants, and we should talk more about this,” Lilia Dulinets said.

Tags: construction , NPP , nuclear power industry , power plant , society

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