Bevan Hamilton, of the CBC, reports that Five years after the second-worst disaster in Japan, the nuclear power industry is far from dead. A 9.0-magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a tsunami that destroyed four nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The meltdown released minor radioactive waves into the air, leading to a mass evacuation order, billions of dollars in cleanup and total shutdown of Japanese nuclear program.
Fukushima 5 years later, Japan restarts first nuclear reactor since 2011 Fukushima tsunami damage and meltdown, but it also brought into question the safety of nuclear reactors all around the world. Nearly every country using nuclear power undertook comprehensive safety checks.
The onus for Fukushima ultimately landed on the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the general assumption by the Japanese that its nuclear power plants were so safe that an accident of this magnitude was simply unthinkable, as Yukiya Amano, the director general for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), put it.
In the past year, however, the number of nuclear reactors under construction has hit a 25-year high with around 60 to 70 reactors under construction all over the world. While some countries went the phase-out route, many more opted to continue with their nuclear programs. There are currently some 65 reactors under construction around the world, with a further 150 in planning. And some countries are going nuclear for the first time, including Bangladesh, Indonesia and Thailand.
(WPE) The overwhelming advantages (re actual cost and safety issues) of nuclear power is clearly outweighing the small calculated risks involved. Many countries are reversing their concerns for nuclear power for electrical generation.
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Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
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