NUCLEAR POWER AT CROSSROADS IN UK, SAYS BNFL CHIEF

UK: December 7, 2000
LONDON - THE CHAIRMAN OF BRITISH NUCLEAR FUELS (BNFL) SAID ON WEDNESDAY NUCLEAR POWER IN BRITAIN FACES A LONG MANAGED DECLINE IF DECISIONS ARE NOT TAKEN SOON ON WHETHER TO COMMIT TO BUILDING NEW NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS.

"It is no exaggeration to say BNFL and nuclear power are at the crossroads, " Hugh Collum told a London nuclear conference, adding a decision on whether to build new nuclear plants must be made within the next five years because of the long time it takes to plan and build nuclear power stations.

"Decisions must be made soon - and must be made in an informed and open way after a public debate," the head of the state-owned group said.

Collum said that while nuclear energy currently provides Britain with about 28 percent of its electricity, this figure was estimated to drop if current trends continue to only three precent by 2025.

He said he was concerned with predications that natural gas would provide 70 percent of electricity generation by 2020.

"To me, that is putting too many energy eggs in one basket."

Collum took the helm of BNFL in October 1999 just weeks before a safety scandal erupted which led the country's safety watchdog to criticise the group for "systematic management failures."

He said an informed debate on nuclear power was necessary amid the growing concerns about global warming.

"Worldwide, nuclear energy avoids the emission of 1.8 billion tonnes of CO2 a year," he said.

The BNFL head said there was currently a public perception that the price of nuclear power in environmental and safety terms was unacceptably high.

"We in the nuclear industry are still suffering from the reputational legacy of the bad old days, whereas our actual performance today is outstanding."

Critics of nuclear power say aside from safety fears, it is extremely expensive when decommissioning and long term radioactive waste storage costs are taken into account.

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE