USA TODAY/Gallup Poll Says More Americans Concerned Over Safety of Nuclear Energy

(USA Today March 17, 2011) A new poll shows American support for nuclear energy declining as the nuclear emergency situation in Japan grows more ominous.  The USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found 70% of respondents said they have more concern about the safety of nuclear energy since Japan's nuclear crisis began in the aftermath of the 9.0 earthquake last Friday.  A plurality of Americans now oppose building more nuclear plants, which is a significant change since from the 57% that supported nuclear energy when Gallup asked a similar question less than two weeks ago. 

U.S. officials displayed growing concern over the crisis, which began when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan's northeast coast Friday and knocked out the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant's ability to operate and maintain its spent fuel storage.  The State Department warned Americans in Japan to stay 50 miles from the power plant, more than twice the 20-mile danger zone designated by Japanese officials, because of rising radiation.  "We believe radiation levels are extremely high" inside the plant, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko told a House subcommittee Wednesday.  He said it appeared no water was left in the spent fuel pond of one of the plant's reactors.  Hajime Motojuku, a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power, called conditions stable.  The power company said its workers were completing a new power line to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in a desperate attempt to restart systems designed to cool volatile radioactive fuel.  A Japanese military Chinook helicopter yesterday dropped seawater onto one of the hot reactors. 

In an unprecedented address to Japan, Emperor Akihito expressed condolences and urged Japan not to give up in the face of what he called an "unpredictable" crisis.  "It is important that each of us shares the difficult days that lie ahead," said Akihito, 77, a revered figure.  "I pray that we will take care of each other and overcome this tragedy."  Without coolant, the spent fuel could continue heating unchecked, ultimately leading to a meltdown, experts feared.  Another concern: Outer shells of the fuel rods could ignite with enough force to spew the radioactive material widely.  Seeking to calm domestic conerns, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said at a House hearing that Americans "should have full confidence" in the safety of 104 nuclear reactors in the United States.

Given the devastating impact of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, I can understand why Americans are skeptical of building more nuclear power plants.  I have been a proponent of using nuclear energy to fuel power plants myself.  I'm not a scientist nor do I know much about nuclear energy.  However, it's important that nuclear plants that are built be constructed in such a manner as to withstand the greatest magnitude of earthquakes.  There have been some scientists that argue that nuclear power plants shouldn't be built on fault lines.  I heard a scientist on the Alan Colmes radio talk show Monday evening who was opposed to building nuclear power plants in areas that are earthquake prone.  As of right now I don't have a particular position concerning building nuclear power plants in earthquake prone areas.  I may have a position on this subject in a few weeks once we learn more about the details concerning Japan's earthquake.  As of right now, I'm not sure we know how dangerous the situation is in Japan.  It could be worse than what we're being told.  One thing I don't know is how harmful the radiation released into the air could be to civilians once released into the air.  Only time will tell.