The Extended Nuclear Family

While the Reagan Administration attempts to mend America's nuclear-power industry, such extensive repairs are not as yet necessary in other countries. From South Korea (one reactor) to the Soviet Union (23 reactors), the world is still looking more or less confidently to the atom for its electric power. Outside the U.S., 21 countries now have a total of 182 atomic-powered generating plants in operation, and another 138 plants are under construction.

The most advanced nuclear-energy program is in France, where 22 reactors now produce more than 30% of the country's electric power, the highest percentage in the world. During last spring's presidential campaign, Socialist Candidate Franc,ois Mitterrand dismissed nuclear power as "costly and uncertain" and promised to delay nine proposed plants. But as President, Mitterrand has curbed his antinuclear rhetoric and now plans to halt only three of the plants. Reason: his government is counting on the energy provided by nuclear reactors to help fuel an ambitious program of economic revival.

In West Germany, opposition is more heated. The country now has 14 operating atomic-power stations, supplying about 10% of its electricity. During a series of recent local elections the new, environmentalist Green Party made impressive gains based largely on its opposition to the nuclear industry. Though the West German government strongly supports atomic power, Chancellor Helmut Schmidt admits he is prevented from moving as quickly as he would like. Says Schmidt: "One cannot simply force nuclear energy down people's throats."

In Japan, where 22 facilities now generate 12% of the country's electricity, another 15 plants are set for completion by 1985. Yet a major mishap last March at a reactor in Tsuruga, where a ton of radioactive water leaked into nearby coastal waters, captured national headlines and fueled opposition to atomic power across the country. Japanese officials last year proposed dumping low-level wastes into the Pacific, but an international wave of protest quickly forced them to table the plan.

In Great Britain nuclear power is developing at a slow but steady pace. Eleven stations supply 13% of the nation's electricity, and another five plants are scheduled to be finished by the late '80s. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is ardently pronuclear, though concern for safety is growing. Says a British Energy Department official: "The Three Mile Island mishap caused us to sit back and take stock."

The Soviet Union's 23 nuclear stations generate 5.6% of the country's electricity. By 1990 the Soviets hope to meet a full one-third of energy needs in the country's European region through nuclear power. Yet an occasional dissenting voice can be heard. In October 1979, Atomic Engineer Nikolai Dollezhal and Economist Yuri Koryakin published an article in the theoretical journal Kommunist that warned against building more reactors in the heavily populated European region. The article's obvious warning about the safety of Soviet atomic-power plants did not please the Kremlin. A group of top-level Soviet scientists was assembled at an unusual news conference to denounce the article.

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