Konstantin Zaytsev, Vice Chairman of State Duma Energy Committee

– Such figures show that population and mass media trust nuclear industry

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.

Such figures show that both the population and the mass media trust the nuclear industry. This is the result of the public hearings held on a regular basis in the territories having or planning to build nuclear facilities. Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation is carrying out serious explanatory work. Such measures have helped to convince people that nuclear energy is safe and ecologically friendly and is a source of cheap electricity and stable work. I think that it was a right decision to stimulate the development of the high technologies preserved since the 1990s. Today, we have lots of contracts abroad, which means that we are trusted. Today, our government is supporting, first of all, the industries having high technologies and bright development prospects. And the nuclear industry is one of them. People see it: the results of the survey of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center have shown that they do.

The confidence in nuclear energy will grow if we continue adopting legislative and regulatory acts as consistently. In the autumn the State Duma will consider a law on radioactive waste and, then, a law on treatment of spent nuclear fuel. This will be one more step towards openness. The law on Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation has already made the industry open. People see it and are beginning to trust.

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.