Many folks in the nuclear energy sector were quite concerned when the Japanese Tsunami and Earthquake took out a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. What was thought to be a meltdown, turned out to be the worst of all fears; a melt through. If you know anything about nuclear energy, that's not very funny, as that is a total breach of containment, and it will make those areas unlivable for quite some time in the future.
What's worse is the major knee-jerk reaction around the world when it comes to nuclear power. Germany said it would stop all nuclear power plants, and stop building the ones it was working on. Even our own US government may stop projects here or further scrutinize an already over regulated industry, preventing some of our new nuclear power plants from being built, and these were to be the first built in nearly 30 years.
Indeed, there was interesting article in the Wall Street Journal on June 16, 2011 titled "Beijing Says Its Reactors Are Safe - Government's Plan to Build New Nuclear Facilities Rekindles Concerns about How It Deals with Radioactive Spent Fuel," by Brian Spegele.
The article stated that; "China has 13 nuclear reactors in operation and more than two dozen under construction." Now the question is are they safe? There are several that are along the coast, and they are subject to Earthquakes and Tsunamis, not to mention tidal surges from large typhoons. These are serious issues.
And, regarding the title of that article and the main point of the article; that the Chinese government is attempting to reassure everyone that its nuclear power plants are safe, well, that alone doesn't make me feel too safe. And the other problem is if they don't build a nuclear power plants, they will build more coal-fired plants, and the air pollution in China is already out of control, and although I'm not a global warming alarmists, what about the CO2 emissions?
Well, to this article I have a simple comment: yes, well Beijing says a lot of things that turn out later not to be true, and as we know quite a bit of the pollution from China's coal-fired plants in found along the coasts of the United States. In fact 2% of the air pollution in California has been traced back to China. And it's easy to trace it back because the type of coal they use which produces a certain type of soot, which is not readily available in the United States and definitely not used in CA. Likewise, there are various other chemicals in the air, that are coming from that part of the world.
Meanwhile, Californians are asked to reduce their pollution because our pollution has increased in California. Guess by how much? Yes, that's right 2% over the last six years. In the United States there's a lot more transparency, and solid regulation, but in China there's too much corruption, shortcut taking, and I'm a little concerned because of the lead paint on toys, the toxic drywall, the tainted milk, and the poisonous toothpaste and dog food. So for me, I am glad that Beijing came out with a statement saying that their nuclear power plants are safe, but are they really? Hold that thought, but you can't hold your breath.
Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 23,777 articles by 7 PM on June 27, 2011 is going to be difficult because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off now..
