There is no need for the United Kingdom to curtail the operation of its nuclear power power stations in the wake of the situation at Japan's Fukushima-1 facility, nor should it change its plans for new nuclear plants. So says an interim report from the U.K.'s chief inspector of nuclear installations, Mike Weightman. The main arguments that Weightman offers for his conclusions are the unlikelihood of similar seismic activity in the United Kingdom—it is 1000 miles from the edge of a tectonic plate—and the fact that all of its 19 reactors are of a different design from those at Fukushima. He has made 26 recommendations to ensure that any relevant lessons are learned from Japan's experience. Weightman's conclusions differ markedly, however, from those of other countries such as Germany, where an ethics panel has recommended shutting all plants by 2021, Italy, where new plant construction is on indefinite hold, and the United States, where the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has deemed it too early to make any firm conclusions.
The U.K. government ordered a review the country's nuclear policies in the days following March's disastrous earthquake. A full report is due in September, but Weightman was tasked with presenting interim findings in May so that other authorities can react to them.
In his report, Weightman pointed out that the magnitude-9 earthquake and subsequent 14-meter tsunami inflicted on Japan are "far beyond the most extreme natural events that the U.K. would be expected to experience."
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