Nuclear accident in France

Radioactive uranium has leaked from the Tricastin nuclear power centre in southern France into public waters. The Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper criticises France's careless conduct regarding nuclear technology. "The timing of the accident makes the incident particularly explosive. Just a few days ago German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood alone at the G8 summit in Japan because Germany is the only major industrialised nation that rejects the renaissance of nuclear energy. ... The French have poked fun at the Germans for years for their resolve to scrap all their reactors. ... Those who want to use nuclear power should not argue solely on the strength of the advantages this technology offers: cheap electricity and a relatively low level of greenhouse gas emissions during production. Reactors and the industry revolving around them entail considerable risks. Incidents like the one at Tricastin greatly damage the credibility of those advocates of nuclear power who are so fond of claiming that the West has everything under control."

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