As the world mourns the loss of life from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, there is understandable alarm about damage to nuclear reactors caused by the natural disasters.
Workers have struggled to prevent a lethal release of radiation from affected reactors – an effort that continues at this writing.
It goes without saying that every reasonable measure should be taken to prevent radiation-related illness or death. And thorough consideration should be given to what further measures may be necessary to fortify nuclear reactors in quake- and tsunami-prone areas.
But it would be a mistake for U.S. politicians to use the Japanese disaster as a pretext to harshly restrict our own safe, successful nuclear power generation.
Unfortunately, we are already seeing signs that panic in the United States about the situation in Japan may derail or seriously delay necessary nuclear power projects here.