Construction of a Nuclear Power Station in One's Locality: Attitudes and Salience

Abstract

This study examined the attitudes toward the building of a nuclear power station in one's locality. In a survey of 290 residents of three small rural communities that were shortlisted as possible locations for a new nuclear power station, results showed a large majority opposed to the building of the power station. Attitudinal differences were not only related to differential evaluations of potential benefits and costs but also to differences in perceived importance of the various consequences. Results showed that the perception of the long-term risks are most differentially perceived by the attitude groups. Psychological risks were found to be the best predictor of individual attitudes. These findings are discussed in terms of the relations between attitudes, expectations of potential costs and benefits, and perceived importance or salience of these outcomes. Finally, implications of these findings for proposed large-scale projects of this kind, and for our understanding of public attitudes toward these developments, are discussed.