Nuclear power no countermeasure to global warming: report

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Nuclear power no countermeasure to global warming: report

TOKYO, April 6 (Kyodo) - Nuclear power may bring lower carbon dioxide 
emissions but will not be an effective countermeasure to curb climate 
change, according to a report released Thursday by the World Wide 
Fund for Nature (WWF). 

The report shows that developing countries must not be forced to 
adopt nuclear power, with its large energy consumption of uranium 
enrichment facilities, in the name of combating climate change 
because it is not a sustainable source of energy. 

It says that emissions of carbon dioxide, a leading global warming 
gas, must be controlled by thorough energy conservation and 
improvement in the efficient use of energy. 

The WWF, based in Switzerland, called its report ''Climate Change and 
Nuclear Power,'' and had experts compare the performance of different 
energy supply systems with various operating conditions. 

Greenhouse gas emissions per kilowatt-hour (kwh) were calculated as 
35 grams for nuclear power, 33 grams for hydropower and 20 grams for 
wind power. 

Cogeneration technologies based on biogas from wood, landfills or 
agricultural origin emerged with the best performance, reaching an 
efficiency of 75% to 90% compared with conventional plants' 35% to 
58%. 

Compared with nuclear power, combined heat and power (CHP) or 
cogeneration plants recover most of the waste heat in industrial 
processes or urban heating systems. 

The report said this transformation of biomass into synthetic gas 
makes it possible to nearly double the electricity generation of most 
current biomass-fired power plants. 

Citing Japan as an example of a country heavily reliant on nuclear 
power with ''one of the lowest cogeneration shares of any 
industrialized country,'' the WWF report said Japan's large-scale use 
of nuclear power blocks improvements in efficient energy use within 
the country. 

''An efficient greenhouse gas abatement strategy will not be based on 
nuclear power but on energy efficiency,'' it said. 

The report appealed to governments not to use nuclear power as a main 
means of fighting climate change, pointing to the Soviet Union's 
nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, now in present-day Ukraine, and the 
Tokaimura nuclear accident in Japan last September. 

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Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
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Costa Mesa, CA 92626                                      

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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