U.S. Not Likely to Suspend Nuclear Energy Plans, Posted by Meosha Eaton

By Williams Ekanem

Although the twin explosions at nuclear power plants in Japan have created a somewhat freeze on prospecting for nuclear power by various countries, the United States may not necessarily  tow the same line of putting on hold its nuclear energy plans.

Indications to this emerged on Tuesday at the Capitol Hill when leading Senators signified their lack of support for further suspension of work on development of nuclear energy.

Republican Senator John  Barrasso told congressional Reporters while responding to question on the issue that he does not subscribe to the United States to continue waiting on the development of nuclear energy, having been doing that for about fifteen years now.

In the same manner, Senate majority Leader, Harry Reid, D-Nev  said on Tuesday that the United States should not eliminate nuclear energy right away but understudy what is going on in other parts of the world.

Talks on the possibility of a nuclear freeze resurfaced on the front burner  when in only three days, Japan  has experienced two hydrogen explosion nuclear reactor.

Reports say the cascading troubles at the Fukushina Dai-Chi complex were set in motion when last Friday’s quake and tsunami in Japan’s northeast knocked out power, crippling the cooling systems needed to keep nuclear fuel from going into full meltdown weeks after a reactor shuts down.

Consequent upon the above, some countries in the midst of development of nuclear power are considering put a freeze on their nuclear energy plans.

Associated Press reports that Switzerland has ordered a freeze on new plants or replacements. The report quoted the country’s energy minister Doris Leuthard as saying that this necessary, Until safety standards have been carefully reviewed and if necessary adapted.”

The decision put on hold the construction of nuclear power stations at three sites approved by Swiss regulatory authorities. Switzerland now has five nuclear power reactors that produce about 40 percent of the country’s energy needs; it also has nuclear research reactors.

In Germany, thed government said it is suspending for three months a decision to extend the life of its nuclear power plants.  That also means that two older nuclear power plants will be taken off the grid shortly=at least for now- pending a full safety investigation, Chancellor Angela Merkel was reported to have told reporters.

A previous government decided to shut all 17 German nuclear plants, but Merkel’s administration last year moved to extend their lives by an average of 12 years.

In Turkey, opposition in one voice renounce government’s nuclear expansion plans. And anti-nuclear groups staged rallies around France, the world’s most nuclear-dependent country as the government sought to reassure the public that the risks remain minimal.

The governments of Russia, China, Poland and even earthquake-prone Chile say they are sticking to their plans to build more reactors. Bulgaria may freeze its Belene nuclear project and instead install a Russian reactor it has already ordered at its Kozloduy plant to reduce safety risks, Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov said on Tuesday.