Survey Results

The survey was the initiative of the group to assess the attitude of the public towards Nuclear Power and Nuclear Reactors. Decommissioning was a component of the sample questions, however the goal of this survey was to acquire a general public's opinion when posed with the thought of nuclear power and reactors.

View the full survey.

The data acquired was for a total number of 151 people in the sphere of influence of the group members.

• Of this group of 151 people 52% were male and 48% were female.
• The average age of candidate was 28 years of age.
• The survey was conducted over a large range of different people of varying occupations. Of this sample, examples are: students, shop assistants, pharmacy assistants, commandos, sports specialists, retirees, police officers and many others that would have a greater understanding of nuclear physics.

Question 1

One of the concerns the decommissioning group had was the opinion of the public as to what was important in the planning and construction of a nuclear reactor here in Australia.
A graph illustrating the opinion from "most important" to "not important" on various issues including:

• Safety concerns when planning and operating a nuclear reactor
• Setup of a Nuclear Reactor
• Concern for the Environment when planning and operating a nuclear reactor
• The decommissioning of the facility
• The renewability of nuclear power

The results acquired gave a valuable insight into the understanding of the sample group of nuclear reactors and nuclear reactor associated issues. Of the information acquired the majority of the people stated that safety and concerns for the environment whilst planning and operating a nuclear reactor, were the most important concerns when planning and building a nuclear reactor facility.

Graph 1: Data acquired on the concerns of the public in planning and building a nuclear reactor.

Question 2

This question was a yes or no question, asking if people supported nuclear power generation to satisfy Australia's energy needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The result was that 68% support Nuclear and 32% do not.

Question 3

This question was also a yes or no question, seeking a "gut feeling" about whether Nuclear Power is better than other methods of power generation such as coal and gas. The result was that 58% believed it was better and 42% said it was not.

Question 4

Another opinion that the public held that was a concern for the decommissioning group was,

"Who should be accountable fordecommissioning the nuclear facility?"

The overwhelming response was that government should be held accountable for the management and development of a nuclear facility.

Graph 2: Opinion acquired for the accountability for a Nuclear Reactor. (151 People)

Out of interest, the decommissioning group decided to pose the question:

"How many years does it take to decommission a nuclear facility?"

Of the response acquired, opinion showed that the greater majority of those who participated in the survey did not really know with any great certainty how many years decommissioning takes.

Graph 3: Opinion acquired for the number of years believed it takes a Nuclear Reactor to be decommissioned. (151 People)

Conclusion

The survey was fairly crude and simple in construction and returned some inconclusive results. The sample size was rather small to give any definitive result. However at the risk of contradicting the statement in the previous sentence the results gave a vague indication of where people find their opinions in regards to nuclear power reactors and decommissioning.