[cdn-nucl-l] U.S. energy secretary says nuclear power plays important role in energy supply

["Adam McLean" <adam.mclean@utoronto.ca>]

Posted on Yahoo News on September 17, 2002 and at:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020917/ap_wo_en_po/n
uclear_power_1
First half of the article = apples, 2nd half = oranges.  But the first
part makes it worth a read.

Adam

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U.S. energy secretary says nuclear power plays important role in energy
supply 
Tue Sep 17, 9:38 AM ET

VIENNA, Austria - Nuclear power should play an increasingly important
role in the world's energy supply, despite fears prompted by the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. energy secretary said Tuesday. 

Significant improvements in the safety of nuclear power, along with
growing concerns over pollution and climate changes, make the case for
nuclear power strong, Spencer Abraham ( news - web sites) said. 

"Notwithstanding the events of Sept. 11, we should continue to make
nuclear energy an important part of the world's energy mix," he said. 

Some security experts fear that nuclear power plants and the waste they
produce could become targets of terrorist attacks. 

In a media briefing held during the International Atomic Energy Agency's
general conference, Abraham also reiterated that an international
conference needs to be held soon to discuss the threat posed by so
called "dirty bombs" - radiation weapons that rely on conventional
explosives to scatter radioactive material over a large area. 

Unlike nuclear bombs, dirty bombs can be constructed with lower-grade
radioactive materials, often used in medicine and industry. 

Abraham, who made a similar call to the agency's general assembly on
Monday, said he had met with the agency's director general, Mohamed
ElBaradei. 

"I learned from him that they were equally interested in the proposal on
a forum on (dirty bombs)," he said. "We're hopeful that we can begin
putting together that process in the very near future."