Germany shuts aging reactors in the wake of Japan’s earthquake and domestic protests
MAR 16, 2011
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.025140
New York Times : Even before last week’s earthquake and tsunami-damaged nuclear reactors in Japan, antinuclear sentiment was running high in Germany. On Saturday, in an event planned before the earthquake struck, 50 000 protesters formed a human chain around the city of Stuttgart. Now, chancellor Angela Merkel has announced that Germany’s seven oldest reactors, all built before 1980, will be shut down temporarily. As if to appease the opponents of nuclear power, Merkel said that Germany would accelerate its pursuit of renewable energy. The chance of earthquakes imperiling Germany’s reactors is remote. However, as the New York Times‘s James Kanter and Judy Dempsey report, power stations, which tend to be situated next to rivers, lakes, and shores, are vulnerable to catastrophic flooding.
© 2011. American Institute of Physics