European Nuclear Society
e-news Issue 4 Spring 2004
http://www.euronuclear.org/library/public/enews/ebulletinspring2004/publication-report.htm

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Special feature on nuclear in Commission magazine

‘Nuclear Energy – Can we do without it?’ is the main four-page web feature in the February 2004 (No. 40) issue of the European Commission’s RTD Info Magazine on European Research. The introduction starts off by referring to nuclear as an “unpopular sector”, which has been “at the centre of much controversy” over the past two decades, following its status as “the darling” of the burgeoning economies of the “glorious thirties”. However, it then goes on to question the viability of an anti-nuclear stance in the face of the global climate change problem, and this sets the tone for a balanced article covering the major nuclear issues.

Some of the many key points made in the article are:

nuclear fission is a means of producing electricity not only on a very large scale but also in a sustainable way – not a single greenhouse gas molecule is emitted from the nuclear reactions.
the nuclear sector now provides more than a third of Community needs.
the EU has resolved to make a considerable effort to double the use of renewable energy, targeted to meet at least 12% of its primary supplies by 2012. Yet even if it succeeds, this would only reduce its emissions by 200 million tonnes – leaving 350 million outstanding.
compared with disasters in the chemical or transport sectors, for example, the nuclear industry can be proud of having achieved a remarkable level of industrial safety within the EU over many decades.

For the February 2004 issue of the European Commission’s RTD Info Magazine on European Research, please visit:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/rtdinfo/40/index_en.html

From the above web page, the magazine is also available in pdf format, in English, French and German.