The British government is holding a public inquiry to present its proposed construction of a new nuclear energy station on the Suffolk coast north of Ipswich. The government’s case centers on its prediction that energy generated from this and subsequent stations will be so inexpensive that the reactors will pay for themselves over time by replacing old plants fired by coal.
Objecting groups site safety issues since this reactor would be the same type involved in the Three Mile Island incident of 1979 in the United States. In addition, there are concerns about nuclear waste disposal; plus Britain already has a surplus of electrical generating capacity. So why build more?
Editor’s Note: An article on this topic was published in The Boston Globe, March 24, 1983, titled “British debate construction of new reactor,” by Gale Warner. Due to copyright issues, we are unable to reproduce it as published.