No knee-jerk reaction on nuclear, say engineers
The explosions at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plants must not derail the UK’s nuclear energy plans, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) said today.The urge for caution comes after Germany and Switzerland suspended decisions on future nuclear power as a result of the accidents at the Japanese plants.
Stephen Tetlow, Chief Executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said: “The humanitarian tragedy currently unfolding in Japan is deeply shocking and our thoughts go out to all affected. However we are beginning to see kneejerk reactions against nuclear power in this country and across Europe which could prove to be profoundly damaging to our long-term energy security.
“The fact is that without nuclear power we face a very real possibility of the UK’s lights turning off in a decade’s time. We shouldn’t be complacent – we need to learn from what is happening now in Japan – however to make any long-term decisions before we know the facts would be reckless.”
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) was established in 1847 and has some of the world’s greatest engineers in its history books. It currently has around 90,000 members in 120 countries representing mechanical engineers involved in a diversity of fields such as the automotive, rail, aerospace, medical, power and construction industries to name a few.
For more information, visit www.imeche.org
