More people wary of nuclear power, study shows

A growing number of people around the world are concerned about the dangers and negative impact on air quality that nuclear power brings.

Research conducted by GlobeScan on behalf of the BBC has indicated the vast majority of citizens in 23 countries were opposed to their governments placing increased emphasis on developing nuclear power solutions.

Indeed, the poll showed people are far more opposed to the energy source than they were in 2005, which could be down to the highly publicised nuclear disaster in Fukushima earlier this year.

Just 22 per cent of respondents saw it as a safe power source and nearly one in three said they would close down nuclear plants altogether if given the opportunity. Only the US and UK viewed the energy in a favourable light.

Many participants in the research said they would prefer their country to invest in renewable energy that has less of a negative effect on the environment.

Earlier this month, Japanese energy supplier Tepco was forced to play down the discovery of xenon gas at the Fukushima plant, which normally signals a nuclear meltdown.

Posted by Joseph Hutton