Japan Authorities Must
Offer Total Nuclear Transparency
"Even in America, the most nuclear country in the world with 104 plants in operation, anxiety is spreading. … Japan must release all of its data to the world: not just the facts relating to the Fukushima Daiichi accident, but to the response and costs to state and local governments and the medium- to long-term health and economic damage. ... Japan has the responsibility."
Atomic improvisation: A helicopter of the Japanese Defense Force ferries sea water to cool exposed feul rods at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
In Germany's southwestern
state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, the anti-nuclear Green Party thrashed
the ruling party in a state assembly election. During the election campaign after
the Fukushima Daiichi accident hit the headlines, nuclear policy became the central
focus. Last year, the Merkel government
agreed to extend the lifespan of existing nuclear reactors, but after the
anti-nuclear backlash it will need to radically rework its energy policy.
Even in America, the most
nuclear country in the world with 104 plants in operation, anxiety is spreading.
The Indian
Point nuclear plant located just north of Manhattan is of particular
concern given the population density of the surrounding area and its proximity
to a fault line. More than 10 million people live within a 50-mile-radius of
Indian Point, making evacuation extremely difficult. There have been calls for
a safety review and depending on the results, the possibility of plant closure.
After the 1979 Three Mile Island
accident the Chernobyl
disaster in 1986, anti-nuclear sentiment spread across the Western world.
In recent years, however, a “nuclear renaissance” has flourished, as nuclear
energy has been reevaluated in light of the global warming issue. The Obama Government,
for example, has announced plans to promote the construction of nuclear power plants
as a part of its effort to combat climate change.
The
site of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station: it
According to the Japan
Atomic Industrial Forum, in January 2010, 432 nuclear reactors were in
operation, 55 were being built and 74 were in the planning stages across the
world. Before the Fukushima Daiichi accident, emerging economies in particular
were keen to build new plants to meet a rising demand for energy.
In March, China's National
People’s Congress approved a five-year-plan that includes increasing the output
of China's nuclear plants four to fivefold. But now state authorities have temporarily
suspended new plant construction.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
In addition to the direct
effects of radiation, the Fukushima Daiichi accident has highlighted the
enormity of other risks, such as compensation for evacuees and businesses
forced to cease exports, to say nothing of the long term economic consequences.
It is inevitable that there will be a global shift toward an antinuclear perspective.
Yet returning to thermal
power like coal and petroleum poses the risk of accelerating global warming and
may become a catalyst for a different kind of crisis. Then again, renewable
energy sources like wind and solar may not generate the output to support
developing countries. Whether to make nuclear plants safer, return to thermal
power or invest in alternative sources of energy is a tough call, not just for
Japan but for countries around the globe.
Japan must release all of its
data to the world: not just all of the facts relating to the Fukushima Daiichi
accident, but to the response and costs to state and local governments and the medium-
to long-term health and economic damage. This information will form the
baseline from which countries can discuss energy policy. Japan has the
responsibility not only to bring the accident to the best possible conclusion,
but to provide the complete details as well.
