Nuclear industry not out of the woods

Can the nuclear industry breathe a huge sigh of relief now the situation at the Fukushima nuclear reactor appears to be quieting down? Can they begin to plan to continue with their plans for global expansion? Here are 5 reasons why they can't.

1. There is now intense focus on other nuclear reactors around the world. Like those also located in areas of seismic activity, those that are working far beyond their original design life, and those that do not have high standards of containment in case of accident. Questions will be raised about why politicians and the industry have allowed such risky nuclear plants to continue operating. Some may get closed down. Trust in politicians, industry and regulators will decline further

2. Hopefully the human health impact of the Fukushima accident will remain low, but the economic consequences are significant. The plant itself is a write-off. The families and businesses within the evacuation zone have suffered terrible hardship and a loss of economic productively. In the normal course of events they should receive financial compensation, but the tsunami is not within normal course of events. It is increasingly clear that the owners of nuclear plants will in the future have to have the necessary insurance to foot the entire bill in case of an accident. This will be costly. The only alternative is making the public take the risk and bear the cost of an accident. This is a politically untenable big public subsidy.

3. The public will be less accepting of new nuclear power plants. The news and pictures from Japan over the last week will stick in people's minds for a very long time. The reassurances made by so-called experts (often with a vested interest) that the impact will be local and small were eclipsed by the news that foreign Government's were evacuating their citizens from as far away as Tokyo.

4. Politicians will be nervous about strongly promoting large-scale new nuclear build.  Even if they still support the technology they must acknowledge that energy saving and renewable power need increased emphasis and that at the very least any new nuclear power stations will need to have the highest safety features possible. This will lead to many fewer new nuclear stations being built than was the case before Fukushima.

5. The pictures and news from Japan will not go away fast. The events in Libya may have removed the Fukushima nuclear plant from the front pages for a while. But news that water cannons may need to continue for months or even years suggests that the story will run and run, especially given the results of inquiries in Japan and investigations in other countries will continue to feed the media for months ahead. This will make it virtually impossible for the industry to move the nuclear debate on and away from Japan.

If nuclear power was essential to fighting climate change and providing energy security this could be a worrying situation. But it isn't. Instead out of this dreadful accident comes the possibility of a saner and safer energy policy. It is an opportunity we must grasp.