Each of these plants had operated for many years with emergency equipment that would not have functioned as required in event of an accident. In event of an accident, this equipment would not have worked. Despite its maturity, the U.S. nuclear power industry continues to be plagued by management problems. In the past two decades, over twenty percent of U.S. nuclear plants have been shut down for a year or longer to repair safety equipment. Each of these lengthy outages also involved extensive management changes as companies sought people with leadership skills and a proper focus on safety.
Bad management reduces safety margins and increases costs.
The nuclear industry believes that global warming may give it a new lease on life. A recent such study, for the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, found that investments in improving energy efficiency and in developing new renewable energy sources can just about enable meeting the Kyoto targets while reducing other harmful emissions by 90 percent, without extending the life of the nuclear fleet. The crucial question is ultimately whether the public will choose nuclear energy in addition to increasing efficiency and renewables. People will choose nuclear only if the industry regains the public confidence it forfeited in earlier battles over nuclear plant construction, waste disposal, and in response to the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents. We believe that regaining public trust requires more openness and responsiveness, more proactive regulation, and a determined effort by the industry to weed out its own worst actors.