Canadian attitudes to nuclear power

In the past 10 years Canadian society has been marked by the growth of public interest in nuclear power and its relationship to the environment. Although the majority of Canadians have accepted nuclear power as a means of generating electricity there is significant opposition to its use. This opposition has effectively forced the Canadian nuclear industry to modify its behaviour vis a vis the public in the face of growing concern over the safety of nuclear power and related matters. The experience has shown the need for scientific social data that will permit the nuclear industry to involve the public in a rational examination of its concerns about nuclear power. The Canadian Nuclear Association sponsored each studies in 1976. They consisted of a national assessment of public attitudes, two regional studies (Maritimes and Mid-western Canada) and a study of Canadian policy-makers' views on nuclear energy. The social data obtained was of a base-line nature describing Canadian perceptions of and attitudes to nuclear power at that time. This research established that Canadian levels of knowledge about nuclear power are very low and that there are marked regional differences. Only 56 per cent of the population have the minimum knowledge required to indicate that they know that nuclear power can be used to generate electricity. Nevertheless, 21 per cent of informed Canadians oppose nuclear power primarily on the grounds that it is not safe. Radiation and waste management are seen to be major disadvantages. In perspective, Canadians are more concerned with inflation than they are with the energy supply. Indeed about half of all Canadians see the question of energy supplies as a future problem (within five years), not a present one. A more important aspect of energy is seen by the majority of Canadians to be some form of energy independence. The utilization of the data from these studies is no easy task for the Canadian nuclear industry because of the fear component and because the credibility of institutional information is low. The safety and well-being of a nuclear oriented society have yet to be satisfactorily demonstrated. This demonstration remains an important objective for the industry in Canada because public participation and public acceptance are prerequisites to retaining the nuclear option