Thursday 17 March 2011

China halts nuclear expansion

The Chinese government yesterday called a halt to approving construction plans for nuclear power stations in the wake of radioactive leaks from the Fukushima plant in eastern Japan.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has also instigated a series of emergency safety checks at the country's ten nuclear plants. The rising superpower has embraced nuclear and has an ambitious program to build a further 20 plants underway. It's vowed to make nuclear an intergral part of its economic development plan for the next decade supplying capacity of 40 gigawatts.

Meanwhile the Japanese authorities are continuing to battle the reactor leak at Fukushima and are attempting to cool the core down with sea water dumped from helicopters and now water cannons.