Seminar Report: Future Nuclear Power - Addressing the Barriers

18 March 2006

There is an urgent need to re-evaluate the role of nuclear power in maintaining adequate, stable and economic energy supplies in a future carbon-sensitive economy. Previously, the UK Government had stated that it had no plans to build any new nuclear plant; however, recently, in the light of expert opinion on technical and economic developments, the Government has decided to review the nuclear option. Nevertheless, there are a number of uncertainties about safety and security that trouble the public, and clearly, acceptability of a new nuclear programme will depend on reassurances about perceived risks, real or imaginary. To consider these risks, and their impact on public perception, the Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of Chemistry held a joint seminar in December 2005.

Graham Ward, past chair of the British Energy Association and a Senior Partner of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, chaired the seminar. Professor Bryn Bridges of the Centre for Genome Damage and Stability, University of Sussex, who formerly chaired the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE), discussed the health risks associated with nuclear energy production to local communities. Professor Neil Chapman of the Department of Engineering Materials, University of Sheffield and ITC School, Switzerland, looked at waste management strategies for future nuclear power stations. Professor Peter Zimmerman of the Centre for Science and Security Studies, King's College London, who has advised the US Government on nuclear security, explored nuclear terrorism, its relevance to power generation, and methods of thwarting attacks. Finally, Malcolm Grimston, Research Fellow at Imperial College and Associate Fellow at Chatham House, described the changing public perception of nuclear power.