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Nuclear power is confronted with a number of challenges in the near term. One major constraint is the economics of nuclear power, driven by both the high capital costs and financial uncertainties. The second is concern about catastrophic accidents; despite the development of newer reactor designs, the possibility of such an accident has not been completely eliminated. A third is to find a way of disposing nuclear waste that is technically feasible and politically acceptable to the public.

We have carried out a computational investigation of the ground 1A1 and lowest energy B2 states of the titanium dioxide molecule. The treatment utilized SCF calculations in an extended basis followed by a CI treatment for each geometry. Our ground state geometry agrees well with experiment, while the agreement between the computed vibrational frequency ν1 and the experimental value for a matrix isolated TiO2 is less satisfactory. Population analysis for the ground state indicates less than one excess electron on each oxygen atom. The first excited state has a linear geometry and the singlet and triplet are essentially degenerate.

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Despite decades of effort, the nuclear industry does not yet have a working solution for managing spent fuel and high level waste, the most radioactive products generated by nuclear power plants. Although many scientific and technical bodies have endorsed geological disposal as the preferred solution to this problem, there remain significant uncertainties about the long-term performance of repositories and behavior of the nuclear wastes to be stored in these facilities. Apart from a minority of countries, most countries have not chosen any sites for a repository. Further concerns about the long-term safety of repositories arise from the experiences of failures and accidents at pilot facilities. One reason for the absence of operating repositories decades after they were first proposed is widespread public opposition to such facilities. Polls have revealed that substantial majorities of people consider nuclear waste with dread and do not approve plans to dispose of radioactive wastes near them, or, often, far away either. Nuclear power advocates have typically dismissed public concerns as resulting from a lack of understanding of scientific facts but this explanation does not withstand scrutiny. Technical approaches to dealing with nuclear waste, such as reprocessing of spent fuel, mischaracterize the social concerns and therefore do not help gain public acceptance. Concern about radioactive waste has contributed to the failure of the propaganda effort by the nuclear industry to market nuclear power as a solution to climate change. The absence of a solution to waste negatively affects the future expansion of nuclear energy.

Opinion polls show that public support for nuclear power has declined since the Fukushima crisis began, not only in Japan but also in other nations around the world. People oppose nuclear power for a variety of reasons, but the predominant concern is the perception that it is a risky technology. Some communities that are closely associated with it even suffer from stigmatization. The nuclear industry has tried a variety of strategies to break down public resistance to nuclear powerÑincluding information campaigns, risk comparisons, and efforts to promote nuclear power as a solution to climate change. None of these strategies has worked well, mostly because the public lacks trust in the nuclear industry. Public resistance to nuclear power is likely to continue, making it difficult to site and build new reactors. This resistance may be a major obstacle to the rapid expansion of nuclear power.

Foundation for their generous support for this project.A big thank you to John Corbett for his extensive research assistance on finances and to Philippe Rivière for his creative work on the website and his generous assistance at any time of the day.The report has greatly benefitted from partial or full proof-reading, editing suggestions and comments by Aileen Smith, Amory B. Lovins, Miles Goldstick, MV Ramana and Shaun Burnie. Thank you all.Special thanks to Anna Jeretic for making available the beautiful artwork and to Adélaïde Dubois-Taine for designing the cover page. NoteThis report contains a very large amount of factual and numerical data. While we do our utmost to verify and double-check, nobody is perfect. The authors are always grateful for corrections and suggestions of improvement.