Are stigma impacts legitimate concerns?
A. Stigma impacts are real. Nuclear science and its technologies are among the great achievements of the 20th century. While providing an abundant source of energy, it also has created the stigmatization of places associated with a nuclear facility, particularly with residential properties. Public responses have consistently indicated fear of the dangers connected to man-made radiation and long-term exposure. For example, a study by the University of New Mexico found that property values declined in populous urban areas of South Carolina during the period of foreign reactor fuel shipments in the early 1990s due to perception of risk.
