Americans evenly split on nuclear power: poll

Americans are evenly split over the use of nuclear power to supply the nation’s energy grid, a new Gallup poll revealed Wednesday.

The number of respondents who say they support or oppose the use of nuclear power is split evenly, with both those who approve and those who disapprove coming in at 49 percent, according to Gallup. A slightly lower percentage of Americans, 47 percent, are willing to say that nuclear power plants are “safe” choices for energy.

{mosads}A previous poll in 2016 showed a rate of support for nuclear power that was 6 percentage points lower than the current rate, according to Gallup. But Americans who strongly oppose the use of nuclear power (21 percent) still outnumber those who strongly favor it (19 percent).

Still, the trend of Americans who favor the use of nuclear power remains far lower than was recorded in 2010, when high oil prices led to 62 percent of Americans favoring the expansion of nuclear power in the U.S.

The survey had slight differences along party lines, as 65 percent of Republican respondents told Gallup that they support nuclear energy, while 57 percent of Democrats said the opposite. Independent voters oppose the use of nuclear energy by a margin of 54 percent to 42 percent.

A split also exists among educational lines. Sixty percent of college-educated Americans favor its use, while 37 percent of those with no college education said the same.

Gallup’s poll was conducted from March 1 to 10 and surveyed 1,039 adults living in all 50 states and Washington D.C. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.