How Carter's nuclear policy backfired abroad
Mr. Cook, Paris bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, points out that, in the name of nonproliferation, the U.S. imposed controls of its own on top of those provided by an international treaty. The result abroad: (1) a steady but determined move away from dependence on the U.S. for enriched-uranium supplies; (2) in fast breeders, the lead once held by the U.S. has been overtaken by France, Britain, the Soviet Union, W. Germany, and probably Japan; and (3) unless policies are reversed, by the mid- or later 1980s, major commercial reprocessing centers will be operating in France, Britain, W. Germany, and Japan, but the U.S. will have none. The main positive achievement of the Carter policies has been the launching of the International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation Study (NFCE), whereby representatives from 52 countries are examining the entire fuel-cycle problem to find technical modifications or safeguards to reduce the dangers of proliferation--the study to be completed by late 1980. Some of the other nations feel that, indeed, the study may show that the questionable parts of the fuel cycle are capable of being protected and are also indispensable for the full-scale development of nuclear energy--findings that, if proved to be true, would be an ultimate irony for the Carter administration.
- Research Organization:
- Los Angeles Times
- OSTI ID:
- 6523111
- Journal Information:
- Fortune; (United States), Journal Name: Fortune; (United States) Vol. 98:8; ISSN FORTA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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