ABSTRACT
Population considerations play a major role in the licensing of nuclear power stations. In the absence of systematic research, an understanding of what population changes have occurred in the vicinity of nuclear power stations is difficult. The method of population analysis utilized is a four-equation model that apportions local population change to components that can be accounted for by national, regional, county, and local trends. Population counts for 1960, 1970, and 1980 for host communities, host counties and adjacent counties were compiled from US Census data by Brookhaven National Laboratory. Application of the model to the population data shows a large component of unique local growth around the forty-eight sites during the 1970s. Site selection criteria used by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission emphasize the selection of low population areas in which little growth is anticipated. This research examines population growth after site selection for the period 1960 to 1980 for forty-three operating sites.
