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Many Nations Reviewing Nuclear Safety After Japan's Problems

   VOA News  March 14, 2011

   Governments around the world are reviewing the safety of their nuclear
   plants and delaying plans to build new facilities, after an earthquake
   and tsunami damaged reactors in Japan.
   Chancellor  Angela  Merkel  said  Monday  that  Germany  is starting a
   three-month  review  of  plans  to  continue  operating its 17 nuclear
   plants.  The  controversial plants had been scheduled to be phased out
   in  2021,  but  Merkel's  government previously advocated keeping them
   going for around 12 years longer than that.
   India's  Prime  Minister Manmohan Singh has ordered safety inspections
   for   all  of  his  nation's  nuclear  power  plants,  checking  their
   vulnerability to earthquakes, tsunamis and other problems.   Â
   Switzerland  has  suspended  the  approval  process  for three nuclear
   plants so that safety standards can be reconsidered.
   Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard says her nation has plenty of
   alternative  sources of energy and does not need nuclear power plants.
   Â
   And  a  key Indonesian official says plans to build a nuclear plant to
   generate electricity will go ahead.
   In  the  United  States, Eric Cantor, the second-leading Republican in
   the  House of Representatives, said nuclear power is essential to U.S.
   energy production. But he said the government should draw lessons from
   Japan's experience.  Â
   European Union officials have called a coordination meeting Tuesday of
   EU  energy  ministers,  national  nuclear  safety  officials  and  the
   companies  that  sell  or operate nuclear plants. The meeting is being
   held  to  assess  the  situation  in Japan, and to re-examine how well
   European plants could stand up to earthquakes, with a particular focus
   on the cooling systems.
   [Some information for this report provided by AFP.]

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