According to a CBS News poll , what had been growing acceptance of nuclear power in the United States was eroded sharply following the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents , with support for building nuclear power plants in the U.S. dropping slightly lower than it was immediately after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 . Only 43 percent of those polled after the Fukushima nuclear emergency said they would approve building new power plants in the United States . A Washington Post-ABC poll conducted in April 2011 found that 64 percent of Americans opposed the construction of new nuclear reactors . A survey sponsored by the Nuclear Energy Institute , conducted in September 2011 , found that " 62 percent of respondents said they favor the use of nuclear energy as one of the ways to provide electricity in the United States , with 35 percent opposed "
Three Mile Island accident
Three Mile Island accident
Nuclear power in the United States