Nuclear power unsustainable, EU Commissioner says

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

Nuclear power unsustainable, EU Commissioner says
  
HELSINKI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Increasing nuclear power is not a viable 
solution to reducing world-wide greenhouse gas emissions, European 
Union Commissioner for environmental affairs Margot Wallstrom said on 
Friday. 

"My personal view is that... we have to look at sustainable 
solutions, and if we create a huge waste problem, that is not 
sustainable," she told a video conference from Brussels. 

She added that nuclear power was very expensive and while individual 
European countries could opt for it, developing states would be 
unable to afford such plants. 

Finnish industry on Wednesday went against the European tide and 
asked the government for permission to build Finland's fifth nuclear 
power plant to ensure an adequate domestic supply of electricity in 
the future. 

The proposal by power group Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) was estimated to 
cost 10-15 billion markka ($1.44 billion - $2.16 billion), and a 
debate likely to last a few years may cause strains both between and 
within political parties. 

Finland now has four nuclear power units at two installations which 
cover 28 percent of the country's electricity need, and a fifth plant 
would raise the share to about 35 percent. 

Proponents of nuclear power see it as a way of combatting global 
warming as it does not produce carbon dioxide emissions, but 
opponents say the environmental risks involved are too great and that 
it is an outmoded and costly form of energy. 

The United Nations is currently hosting a two-week climate change 
conference for 180 nations in the Hague in the Netherlands to find 
ways to reduce greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, as agreed 
in the Kyoto Protocol of 1997. 

The Kyoto agreement aims to cut greenhouse gases, suspected of 
causing global warming, by more than five percent from 1990 levels by 
2008-2012. While 180 nations signed the agreement, only some 30 have 
ratified it. 

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

Personal Website: http://sandyfl.nukeworker.net
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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