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Article: Nuclear comeback: Jon Evans looks at the recent technological developments that could boost the future impact of nuclear energy.
- Article from:
- Chemistry and Industry
- Article date:
- August 27, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Society of Chemical Industry. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The nuclear energy industry knows all about the vagaries of fashion. When the first nuclear reactors were built in the 1950s, they were lauded as heralding an age of cheap, abundant energy. But problems with safety and nuclear waste soon became apparent, tarnishing their image. The accidents at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, US, in 1979 and then at Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986 were the final straw, leading many countries, such as the US, to stop building new nuclear power stations.
But the threat of global warming is now holding out the promise of a come-back for nuclear energy. It is becoming increasingly clear that nuclear energy is the only technology that ...