Introduction

This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part focuses on the socioeconomic impacts at a dozen nuclear power plant sites in the United States. It explores trends in population change in the immediate vicinity of nuclear power station sites during the 1960–1980 period. The book presents actual population growth data for forty-nine nuclear station sites. Numerous safety and environmental factors constrain nuclear power plant siting. A nuclear power plant is a major energy facility, employing several thousand construction workers during peak construction, taking up to a dozen years to build, and requiring several billion dollars to finance. One important manifestation of socioeconomic impacts of nuclear power plants is found in attitudinal changes in the public sector. A nuclear power plant should offer a researcher in socioeconomic impact analysis an extremely rich subject.