Japan reactor

Since the 8.9-magnitude earthquake destroyed cities in Japan, and which was powerful enough to create a tsunami that also afflicted some cities, one of the main preoccupations at the moment is with the Japanese reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Because of the quake, part of the power plant got destroyed and now there’s a serious risk of radiation leaks.

Japanese consequences in the USA

As a consequence of the panic that has been introduced to the Japanese population, and to the rest of the world that has been keeping up with the sequence of events, lawmakers and advocates from the USA are considering narrowing down the limits on nuclear energy usage. On Wednesday (16/03), lawmakers had a meeting on which they showed concern about what is happening to Japan because of the kind of energy the country uses.

On the same side as the lawmakers, environmental groups believe that the Japanese case in an example to prove how one single event can intoxicate and kill millions. The same groups also state that the USA already has nuclear plants with the same characteristics as Fukushima’s. Director of global warming and energy programs at the Sierra Club, Dave Hamilton said “You only think nuclear is a good idea if you really don’t think about the risks.”

Economical interests

As the nuclear power projects are guaranteed money-makers, lobbyists with the Nuclear Energy Institute and energy firms are trying to convince the lawmakers not to take severe measures. The lobbyists argue that what happened in Japan is practically impossible to be reproduced in the USA.

The chief lobbyist for the nuclear institute, Alex Flint, said “To the extent we can learn lessons about what happened in Japan, we will import those lessons. If changes need to be made, we will make those changes. The most important thing for us to get out as much information as we can.”