Japan incident shows that nuclear power is safe

REFERRING to the recent incident at the Fukushima nuclear plant, Adi Roche says “If one of the most advanced countries can’t cope with nuclear power, it proves how dangerous it is” (April 27).

I would respectfully suggest to Ms Roche that the incident proves nothing of the sort and, if anything, proves the very opposite.

Over the last two months, the Fukushima plant has been subjected to 60 earthquakes exceeding six on the Richter scale, resulting in several explosions and widespread fires. In spite of this, no serious radiation leak occurred and no lives were lost. The fact that the plant successfully withstood such unprecedented devastation is surely evidence that Japan has successfully implemented procedures that ensure that nuclear power is safe.

The Fukushima incident has not proved that nuclear power is inherently dangerous. It has merely proved that buildings which house nuclear plants are as susceptible to several weeks of violent earthquakes as any other buildings.

Barry Walsh

Clontarf

Dublin 3