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The Yucca Mountain tours; A test of the familiarity hypothesis

Conference ·
OSTI ID:140805
 [1];  [2]
  1. USDOE Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Washington, DC (United States)
  2. Weston/Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., Washington, DC (US)

In 1978, Maderthaner et al. observed that opposition to nuclear facilities was lowest near the facility. This suggested that opposition decreased as familiarity with the facility increased, with distance from the facility as an inverse measure of familiarity. In this paper, the authors analyze data from the literature supporting this hypothesis and examine a poll of 1200 public visitors to the candidate repository site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, in March through June 1991. The tour poll and independent pools show that most Nevadans support the present scientific investigation of the site while opposing the repository. Among the visitors, support for the investigation increased from 66 to 90 percent, which we attribute to increased familiarity.

Research Organization:
USDOE Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (RW) (United States)
OSTI ID:
140805
Report Number(s):
CONF-920430--; ISBN 0-87262-891-4
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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