Sir, – Since the first major conference on climate change – the UN Earth Summit in 1992 – the international nuclear industry has campaigned relentlessly to promote nuclear power as a solution to global warming.
Your columnist Stephen Collins supports this position (“Environmentalists must move away from dogmatic stance against nuclear power”, Opinion, October 29th).
Mr Collins seems to be unaware that nuclear plants can produce power for up to 25 years, but electricity and water is needed for the next 1,000-10,000 years to keep the waste “safe”, and of course another €800 million to decommission the plant.
The UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority spent £6 billion ($7bn) last year on “care and maintenance”, increasing every year, with no solution in sight.
Perhaps Mr Collins should wait until there is some permanent nuclear waste storage available.
– Yours, etc,
MARY JORDAN,
Baltimore,
Co Cork.