US nuclear plants must prepare for plane attacks

CIVIL NUCLEAR

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Feb 18, 2009
Firms building nuclear power stations will have to present designs that limit the possible effects of a large aircraft hitting the facility, the US nuclear energy watchdog said Wednesday.

The rules are designed to limit the impact of a potentially catastrophic September 11-style attack on reactors, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

The new regulations -- which come after nearly two years of deliberations -- were approved on Tuesday according to Scott Burnell, a spokesman for the NRC.

"This is a common sense approach to address an issue raised by the tragic events of September 11, 2001," said NRC Chairman Dale Klein.

The new regulations mean that cooling systems are able to function and fissile material remains stable in the event of a large commercial aircraft hitting the plant.

The rules will be included in the process of evaluating three new reactors that the NRC is currently considering.

No new reactor has been built in the US since the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979.

The new rules will not apply to the 104 nuclear plants currently in operation, which supply around 20 percent of US electricity.

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CIVIL NUCLEAR

French firm studying Kuwait's nuclear programme: emir

Kuwait City (AFP) Feb 18, 2009
Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah said in comments published Wednesday that a French firm is studying a plan by the Gulf state for a civilian nuclear project to produce power.

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