Nuclear Engineering and Technology

  • 제50권5호
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  • Pages.767-772
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  • 2018
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  • 1738-5733(pISSN)
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  • 2234-358X(eISSN)
한국원자력학회 (Korean Nuclear Society)
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Examination of different socioeconomic factors that contribute to the public acceptance of nuclear energy

  • 투고 : 2017.10.02
  • 심사 : 2018.02.25
  • 발행 : 2018.06.25
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초록

Public acceptance is a major issue that will determine the future of nuclear energy. In this article, we review relevant studies and identify several common patterns of nuclear public acceptance. Based on these patterns and four categories of factors, we propose hypotheses on the impact of different socioeconomic factors on the public opinion of nuclear energy. These factors were demographic and social influences, politico-economic, energy conditions, and nuclear accidents and natural risks. We tested these hypotheses using a data set including survey results on public opinion of nuclear energy in 59 countries from 1987 to 2014. Results of the regression analysis generally verified the proposed hypotheses, especially regarding the positive impact of education or geological suitability and the negative effect of improved living standards and democracy on nuclear acceptance. We propose policy recommendations, including a better focus on education and communication and a thorough consideration of the social and geological conditions a country needs to make before deciding to go nuclear. Potential weaknesses of this study are also discussed, including the possible causal relation between independent variables and the binary nature of the dependent variable.

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  3. An exploration of public risk perception and governmental engagement of nuclear energy in India vol.20, pp.3, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2086
  4. Examining the influence of public participation on public acceptance of nuclear power plants: the case study of Qinshan NPP, China vol.58, pp.3, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1828196
  5. Comparative Evaluation of Direct Disposal and Pyro-SFR Nuclear Fuel Cycle Alternatives Using Multi Criteria Decision Making in Korea vol.14, pp.12, 2018, https://doi.org/10.3390/en14123590