Bato-Zhargal Zhambalnimbuyev, member of Federation Council Nuclear Energy Sub-Committee

– One of the reasons for growing trust in nuclear energy is the wish to pay less for electricity

51% of the Russians say that domestic waste and dumps pose the biggest threat to the environment, say the results of a survey of the Russia Public Opinion Research Center. Wood cutting and transport are the second biggest threats (37% each). The industry is in the third place with 35%, transportation and burial of radioactive waste are the fourth (38%). Only 19% of the Russians regard nuclear power plants as the key threat to nature. 10% say that the most ecologically hazardous activity is the production of oil, gas and other mineral resources. Since 2006 the percentage of domestic waste has grown from 31% to 51%, wood cutting and transport from 30% and 28%, respectively, to 37% each. On the contrary, the percentage of the industry has dropped from 41% to 35%, transportation and burial of radioactive waste from 36% to 28%. Today, NPPs do not seem as dangerous as they did just a couple of years ago – 19% against 31% in 2006.

The confidence in nuclear energy is growing. There are several reasons for this growth. Today, people are much better informed of the situation in the nuclear industry due to the active efforts of Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation and individual nuclear companies. In the Soviet times the industry was closed and people knew almost nothing about it. Rosatom has done really much to show the safety and efficiency of nuclear energy. Now that we are facing a crisis, it is important for the people to know that nuclear power plants give not only cheap energy but also stable work. I think that, today, people know that nuclear energy is quite efficient and competitive. Yes, we did have Chernobyl but it was a negative experience we have used to make nuclear energy safer.

Today, we have very modern equipment and well-thought-out legislation allowing us to solve all possible tasks. Our people know that we actively cooperate with our foreign partners. Nuclear industry is developing at a very high rate in developing countries while developed nations are constantly increasing its share. Besides, people are aware that nuclear energy is cheap. In the Soviet times nobody thought about the cost of energy but, today, people know that they must pay for it. And they want to pay less for better energy.

Note

On the eve of the 23rd anniversary of the accident at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, from Apr 10 till 22 2009 Levada-Center held a poll concerning the attitude of the Russians towards nuclear energy. 1,602 people over 18 took part in the survey. 35% of the Russians advocate the preservation of nuclear energy, almost as many support its active development. The results of this poll are not very much different from those of the survey held in 2006. This proves that the Russians show stably positive attitude towards nuclear energy. Only 5% of the respondents have said that Russia must give up nuclear energy, 12% advocate a gradual phase-out (against 15% in 2006). 42.5% of the Russians believe that nuclear energy will be able to replace oil and gas when they come to an end (15% opt for water resources, 9% for coal, 5.1% for other sources of energy). People living in the regions hosting nuclear power plants show more positive attitude towards nuclear energy: 75% in the Central Federal District and 71% in the North-Western Federal District. In Moscow 45% advocate status quo, while 30% say that nuclear energy must be developed.