Word: nuclear
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Since the accident at Three Mile Island in March, there has been a temporary ban on new nuclear plants in the U.S. Last week the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced that the freeze will continue for at least six months and possibly for as long as two years...
During the moratorium, the NRC will establish more stringent safety regulations for the 72 nuclear plants that now generate 11.5% of the nation's electricity as well as for the 92 plants still under construction. The new rules will include two of the most urgent recommendations of the presidential commission, which was headed by Dartmouth President John Kemeny. One was for stiffer training of plant operators. The other was for emergency evacuation plans for people living within a ten-mile radius of nuclear plants...
Industry spokesmen denounced the moratorium. Said Carl Walske, president of the Atomic Industrial Forum: "The nation can ill afford an indefinite hold on nuclear licensing or one that is subject to politically inspired delays...
...having left valves open in its reactor containment building from April 1978 until last September. If there had been an accident during those 18 months, radioactive materials could have spewed out of the building. The fine would be the largest penalty ever imposed on a U.S. nuclear power company, nearly three times more than the fine levied against the operators of the Three Mile Island plant...
There is no way to reduce the crushing costs except to burn much more coal, continue with nuclear power, speed the development of synthetics and solar, move to mandatory conservation, and, of course, drill for more domestic oil. Last week, overriding objections of environmentalists, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to halt an Interior Department auction of leases to explore for oil on the Georges Bank off Massachusetts. Environmentalists fear that a spill or blowout could harm the rich fishing waters, but the court decision was yet another sign that the U.S. will have to make difficult compromises to secure energy...