US public support for more nuclear power slips

WASHINGTON - US public support for expanding nuclear power appears to be slipping after Japan's nuclear crisis while New York's governor said on Tuesday an aging plant near New York City will be the top priority in a federal review of earthquake risk to such facilities.

President Barack Obama last year announced loan guarantees to build the first US nuclear power plant in nearly three decades. But the nuclear disaster triggered by Japan's 9.0 magnitude earthquake may be making US citizens less inclined to embrace more nuclear energy due to safety fears.

In a poll released on Monday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 52 percent of 1,004 US adults surveyed from March 17 to 20 said they oppose the expansion of nuclear power now, up from 47 percent last October.