ABSTRACT
The patterns and variations in impacts on and responses of nuclear host communities have been the subject of studies at Oak Ridge National Laboratory since 1972. This chapter discusses the constancy and extent of acceptance of nuclear plants at nuclear host communities following the Three Mile Island accident in light of these communities' attitudes and other current information. Public awareness of nuclear plants was much less prior to the creation of the National Environmental Policy Act in 1969 or in the early 1970s before the antinuclear opposition increased to its present level. Nuclear communities have rarely experienced the severe problems in obtaining utility services and the community disruption that follow rapid population growth in remote areas. Various timing factors were important in evaluating favorable information about nuclear plants: chiefly the age and currency of the data and the time when the site for the plant was selected.
