WH: Obama Still Backs Nuke Power
The Hill reports:
President Obama continues to believe that nuclear energy is key to U.S. energy policy even as uncertainty and fear grip Japan, where plants were damaged during last week’s earthquake and tsunami.
Senior Obama administration officials said Monday that Obama remains committed to nuclear power, and that U.S. nuclear plants had been built to withstand the strain of strong storms and earthquakes.
In a briefing at the White House, press secretary Jay Carney said that information is still coming in on the status of the damaged nuclear plants in Japan, but for now Obama is committed to keeping nuclear energy in the U.S. portfolio.
Greg Jaczko, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), attended the briefing with Carney. He said that analysis of the damage, the type of reactor and the distances involved indicate a “very low likelihood” that any potential fallout from Japan might reach Hawaii, U.S. territories or the Western states.
U.S. nuclear power plants are built and tested to endure the strain of natural phenomena like hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes, Jaczko said.
“Right now, we continue to believe that nuclear power plants in this country operate safely and securely,” Jaczko said.
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