Japan Nuclear Crisis Prompts Global Review of Nuclear Power Expansion

From the United States to China, governments are carefully watching the rapidly unfolding events at two stricken Japanese nuclear power plants to determine how the crisis will affect plans to significantly expand nuclear power. In the U. S., a fragile bipartisan consensus in favor of expanding nuclear power has been shaken by the explosions and the threat of reactor meltdowns in the wake of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut and a leading voice on energy issues, said the country should “put the brakes on” approving new nuclear plant construction until the ramifications of the Japanese crisis become clear. In China, where the government is planning to build 28 nuclear reactors to help wean the country off its heavy reliance on coal, officials said the government still planned to move ahead with its nuclear power program and would incorporate lessons from the Japanese disaster into its plans. Meanwhile, environmental groups in India, Turkey, Indonesia, and elsewhere are calling on governments to shelve plans for nuclear power plants unless safety standards are significantly improved, including prohibitions on building plants in seismically active areas.