Public attitudes toward nuclear power plants in Turkey

• Main Authors: Mehmet Onur Karaağaç, Hasan Oğul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pamukkale University 2019-08-01
• Series: Pamukkale University Journal of Engineering Sciences
• Subjects: toplumsal kabul; sinop ngs; türkiye'de nükleer enerji politikası; public acceptance; sinop npp; nuclear energy policy in turkey
• Online Access: https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/pajes/issue/47732/612032

Due to the increasing energy need, countries are required to optimize their usage of energy sources for sustaining developments. One of the options to meet the sustainable energy is the use of nuclear power plants (NPPs). However, building and using NPPs represent a great challenge to policy makers of the countries: acceptance of this technology by the citizens. Turkey is one of the countries decided to establish NPPs and adjust their policy in this regard. The country's first NPP is already under construction in Mersin, and the second will be established in Sinop. A survey to evaluate public acceptance of NPPs was given to 838 individuals from different cities of Turkey. The participants were interviewed face-to-face between January and March 2018. The endorsement and opposition rates were determined as 42.3% and 31.1%, respectively. The margin of error at 95% CL was found to be ±3.3%. Measuring the participants' knowledge of NPPs was also aimed. It has been asked to respondents express if they have basic knowledge of NPPs. 72% of the participants stated that they know the basics of NPPs. To extract the actual rate, three simple questions regarding NPPs have been asked, and only 24.9% of all participants answered 2 or 3 questions correctly. The results were further compared with previous surveys for Turkey and other countries.