Nuclear Power as Dangerous as Nuclear Weapons

Haider Rizvi of IPS, reports on warnings from nuclear non-proliferation experts at the NPT conference in NYC in "Nuclear Power Nearly as Dangerous as Weapons, Critics Say."

U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad similarly advocate the proliferation of nuclear energy. The latter argues: "It's clean. It's cheap."

However, experts say that nuclear power and nuclear weapons go hand-in-hand; nuclear energy companies would fail if not for corporate welfare, and hidden costs from environmental degradation and health consequences need to be considered:

The quest for nuclear disarmament is likely to fail if governments and corporations continue to promote nuclear technologies as a solution to the world's energy needs, say independent experts.

"If you believe that by spreading nuclear power around the world you could stop proliferation of weapons, then you are over-optimistic. It's unlikely to happen," he said David Krieger, president of the U.S.-based Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

Their warning comes as international talks on the future of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) continue here at U.N. headquarters in New York. The review meeting on the 1970 treaty is due to conclude by the end of this month.

Read the rest here.