2021 misconceptions

Orano has once again partnered with the institute BVA to question a panel of the French public on their knowledge and perceptions of nuclear energy*. While 50% of French people think that nuclear energy is an asset for France (versus 15% who think it’s a liability), there are still many misconceptions. Here are some of our responses and some evidence in 4 areas key to nuclear energy.

41% of the French public think that nuclear energy creates jobs in France

That's true! The nuclear industry represents 220,000 non-relocatable jobs.

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19% of the French public think that nuclear energy is a big contributor to greenhouse gas emissions

That's false! The nuclear sector is a source of low-carbon energy that contributes to producting electricity very low in CO₂making it a valuable asset for responding to the climate emergency.

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53% of the French public believe that nuclear power makes a positive contribution to France’s energy independence

That's true! Nuclear energy enables France to be 56% independent for its energy supply.

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For 59% of the French public, non-recyclable waste production is the main drawback of nuclear energy

That's false in part! Of used nuclear fuel, 96% can be recycled, and long-lived high-level radioactive waste only represents 0.2% of the radioactive waste produced in France.

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*BVA study carried out from May 3 to 6, 2021, via the Internet on a sample of 1,500 people representative of the French 18-and-older population. A previous survey was performed by BVA for Orano in April 2019 on a representative sample of 2,400 French people, questioned by phone.