IF you look back to the 1970's and 1980's, you will find instances of Anti-Nuclear protests. Not against nuclear arms (Yes, there were plenty of those), but against nuclear power plants. I was in Nuclear Engineering training when Three Mile Island decided to melt and have a steam explosion due to numerous errors at the plant. If you were in such wnderful places like Saratoga NY, Charleston SC, Groton CT, Dunoon Scotland, or any of a hundred other cities around the world at any given time and asked where the nearest nuclear reactor- you would likely hear about the nearest COMMERCIAL reactor. At any given time, there could be several reactors operating in Norfolk Va, Groton, Charleston, or land based reactors outside of Saratoga- none of which were usually noticed by the public at large.
For the countless years of operation of NAVAL reactors- nobody really talks about them because of their high standard of operation relative to commercial plants (Yes- I know all have had their problems- nobody is perfect).
When I left the Navy, I was deluded into the belief that commercial power was just like Navy Nuclear Power. Strict attention to detail and safety first at any cost. WOW- was I in for a rude awakening! Commercial plants are expensive, and they want to keep them up and running at any cost. I saw the effect of a plant operated for profit rather than mission- and the much higher level of acceptable risk regarding their maintenance and operation. I am not saying they are unsafe, but rather not up to the same level that I was used to. When you put profit (money) into the picture, there becomes an immediate conflict of interests with regard to risk, safety, and other "overhead" items.
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