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By Zhang Wen Japan's earthquake-crippled nuclear reactors and a second explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have triggered global concerns about nuclear safety and debate among lawmakers and activists as to whether their countries should embrace nuclear power. India's prime minister Monday ordered safety checks on all of the country's nuclear power plants, AFP reported. France, the world's second-largest nuclear energy producer, also reportedly said it would discuss possible precautionary measures for its 58 reactors. German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced Monday a three-month moratorium on plans to extend the operation of nuclear power plants following events in Japan. The nuclear industry had been gradually emerging from the shadow of memories of the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the US, as well as the Ukraine's 1986 Chernobyl disaster, before the huge quake shook Japan's reactors Friday. Green groups have stepped up opposition to new nuclear power plants, amid fears that Japan's quake-damaged reactors could lead to a bigger di-saster. "I think it will make a lot of governments, authorities and other planners think twice about planning power stations in seismic areas," Jan Haverkamp, Greenpeace's European Union's policy campaigner, told Reuters. Indeed, many administrations, including the White House, said they would watch Japan for lessons about nuclear safety. According to Reuters, Swiss Energy Minister Doris Leuthard has suspended the approvals process for three nuclear power stations so safety standards can be revised. However, Ian Hore-Lacy, director of communications for the London-based World Nuclear Association, told the Global Times that, in facing such a natural disaster, "the nuclear plants yet in Japan are surviving really very well. There are certainly some big problems. But there are not problems which mean that the public safety is very much at risk." Some analysts pointed out that the disaster might give renewable and greener fuels such as the liquid natural gas sector a boost in the quest for safer energy. Sun Wei in London and agencies contributed to this story |
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