Environmental attitudes and behaviour towards Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant nearby Hong Kong

A survey was conducted to study the environmental attitudes and behaviour of Hong Kong residents towards the Daya Bay nuclear power plant. Only 34.5% of the respondents were confident about the operational safety of the nuclear power plants, whereas 23% stated they would immediately leave Hong Kong when leakage occurs. Multinomial logit analysis indicates that the degree of confidence is significantly related to the perceived ability of the government of Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) and the nuclear power plant company, China Light and Power Co. Ltd. (CLP), knowledge of emergency plan and responsibility, gender, and age. However, the degree of confidence is not significantly related to the distance of the residential area from the nuclear power plant. In addition, the higher the perceived ability of the Government and CLP to handle nuclear leakage, the greater the degree of confidence becomes. The knowledge of the parties responsible for payment in nuclear accident is also significantly associated with greater likelihood of residents immediately leaving Hong Kong in case of leakage. Hence, the HKSAR Government and CLP are recommended to improve their perceived ability for safety and social stability.