Public concerns regarding nuclear power are focused on three main areas:
- The possibility of a catastrophic accident and its consequences (e.g. Chernobyl 1986, Fukushima 2011).
- The harmful effects of routine nuclear discharges on people and the environment.
- Uncertainty as to the method of disposal of radioactive waste, particularly high-level waste and spent fuel.
During the 1990s and 2000s, in addition to public concern, cheap natural gas (especially in the UK) and other relatively inexpensive fossil fuels made nuclear power appear non-competitive economically. The very large front-end capital cost of building nuclear plant, combined with increasing regulatory compliance costs, reduced nuclear power’s economic attractiveness.
The country that has made the most extensive use of nuclear power is France. Because of centralised planning, the French were able to build a large number of power plants using a small number of standardised designs, enabling significant economies of scale.