The Beznau 1 nuclear power plant was commissioned in 1969
Keystone
A survey on people’s attitudes towards nuclear energy has shown that a majority do not think a Fukushima-like nuclear disaster could occur in Switzerland. However, most are ready for a phase out of nuclear energy.
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swissinfo.ch and agencies
According to the survey carried out by the firm Marketagent and published in the German language weekly Schweiz am Sonntag on Sunday, only 37.3% of respondents could envision a Swiss version of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Of the 1,073 people surveyed in the German- and French-speaking parts of the country, 54.5% were skeptical about the possibility of a nuclear accident.
On November 27, Swiss citizens will be voting on a national initiative to decommission nuclear power plants that have seen 45 years of service. Switzerland’s five nuclear power plants supply on average 35% of the country’s electricity and a “yes” vote would mean that the stations Beznau I and II (in canton Aargau) and Mühleberg (Bern) should shut down in 2017, Gösgen (Solothurn) in 2024 and Leibstadt (Aargau) in 2029.
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The survey – conducted between October 27 and November 4 – also showed that 51.5% of respondents are in favour of the anti-nuclear initiative at this stage. It is worth noting that this survey also claims that 23.9% are undecided, a figure that is substantially higher than the 7% predicted in another survey conducted last month.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.