24 Jan (NucNet): More than 60 percent of Swiss believe nuclear energy is needed as a source of electricity with three-quarters saying the country’s nuclear stations are safe, a poll shows.
The poll – the latest in a series carried out annually since 2001 by market research company DemoScope on behalf of Swiss nuclear industry trade association Swissnuclear – questioned 2,200 people in October 2013.
Sixty-four percent of respondents said they considered Switzerland’s five existing reactors essential in meeting the country’s electricity demand. This is around the average level reported since the first poll in 2001, but marks a three percent increase from 2012.
There was support for the continued use of nuclear power, with 68 percent of respondents saying Switzerland’s existing reactors should remain in operation as long as they are safe. This compares with 62 percent of respondents in previous year.
After the Fukushima-Daiichi accident in 2011, the Swiss federal government and parliament voted to ban new-build reactors and to close the existing five units at the end of their useful lifetimes.
