Blow to Carter scheme

Press, 2 April 1979, Page 8

Blow to Carter scheme

NZPA-Reuter Washington Early last week, President Jimmy Carter invited a group of Congressmen to the White House to discuss ways of encouraging the construction of new United States nuclear power plants. Later that same week, the very future of commercial nuclear power was in jeopardy. The Three Mile Island nuclear accident, occurring less than 24 hours after the White House session, dealt the United States civilian nuclear industry a blow from which it would not recover easily, the chairmen of Congressional committees on atomic power said.

“It really hurts the nuclear power programme, there’s no dispute about Nuclear power will be in semi-limbo for some time,’’ said Senator Henry Jackson, a Democrat, who heads the Senate Energy Committee. “If nothing else, the events in Pennsylvania should bring about a moratorium on new nuclear plant construction while the United States figures out how to run the existing ones more safety," said Representative Morris Udall, chairman of the House of Representatives Interior Committee. “Nuclear’s future doesn’t look as good as it did a few days ago," the Arizona Democrat said. “I’m not sure nuclear can survive any more events of this kind.’’ Congressional sources said they saw little chance now for the enactment this year of the Carter Administration’s legislative proposals to speed up the licensing process for nuclear power plants. Congress refused to enact the measure last year, but the White House had planned to resubmit the bill.