A popular movement against nuclear power has gained strength in the Western world , based on concerns about more nuclear accidents and concerns about nuclear waste . Anti-nuclear critics see nuclear power as a dangerous , expensive way to boil water to generate electricity . The 1979 Three Mile Island accident and the 1986 Chernobyl disaster played a key role in stopping new plant construction in many countries . Major anti-nuclear power groups include Friends of the Earth , Greenpeace , Institute for Energy and Environmental Research , Nuclear Information and Resource Service , and Sortir du nucléaire ( France )
Three Mile Island accident
Three Mile Island accident
Nuclear power phase-out