Nuclear powerFrench nuke industry struggles to boost public image
In an effort to curry favor with the public, for the first time France has opened the doors of its nuclear power plants for the country’s annual “heritage” event; public opinion polls indicate the French public have turned increasingly against nuclear power following the accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant
In an effort to curry favor with the public, for the first time France has opened the doors of its nuclear power plants for the country’s annual “heritage” event.
Over the weekend, France’s fifty-eight nuclear power plants joined cultural and political symbols like President Nicolas Sarkozy’s official resident, the Elysee Palace, and the crypt below the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in offering the public tours of if its interiors.
Following the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan, public opinion around the globe has increasingly turned against nuclear power with Germany going so far as to permanently end its nuclear program.
“French public opinion after Fukushima has become increasingly anti-nuclear,” said Corinne Lepage, an environmental lawyer and member of the European Parliament.
According to an Ifop opinion poll published in June, 62 percent of French people want a “progressive halt” to the country’s nuclear energy program in the next twenty-five to thirty years, while 15 percent want a rapid end to nuclear energy.
In contrast, Ifop released a poll in March, shortly after the Japanese nuclear accident, that found 51 percent of people wanted to phase out nuclear energy in the next twenty-five years.
“People were worried and that’s understandable,” said Jean-Christophe Niel, the director of the Autorite de Surete Nucleaire (ASN), France’s nuclear safety regulator. “There’s a high degree of sensitivity about nuclear among the public and the government after Fukushima. I think these worries will last for a long time.”
“EDF (Electrcite de France SA) has its work cut out for it,” Lepage said.
Nuclear power accounts for roughly 75 percent of France’s electricity, and the state controlled EDF is the world’s largest reactor operator.
In recent months, the nuclear utility company has struggled to turn public opinion in its favor. Last week an explosion at a nuclear waste site operated by EDF killed one person and injured four others, which did little to help their cause.
EDF regulators said there were no chemical or radiation leaks from the accident, but anti-nuclear groups said the event clearly demonstrated the dangers of nuclear facilities.
For their latest public relations push, nuclear operators will provide tours of their reactor machine rooms and command room simulators. Roughly 9,400 people were expected to take the two-hour tours.
