Houston: The anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that destroyed communities along the northeast coast of Japan and crippled a large nuclear plant has focused nuclear supporters and foes on safety and the future of atomic power.
In the United States, regulators on Friday issued the first formal rule changes to make nuclear plants safer based on recommendations from last year's Fukushima industry task force.
Since the March 11 disaster, nearly all of Japan's operating reactors have shut to refuel and may never restart. Several countries have questioned the safety of existing reactors and Germany has launched an ambitious plan to replace electricity from its nuclear fleet with renewable and other power sources.
"We believe nuclear power, in the long run, doesn't have any future," Johannes Kindler, vice chairman of a German regulatory agency, said at the IHS CERA energy conference in Houston this week. He said a decision to shut older German reactors was prompted by Fukushima safety concerns and cost issues....
more
08:21 AM, Mar 10, 2012
