“The Morning Briefing” is SmartPlanet’s daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we’re reading about nuclear power.
1.) Germans face hefty bill to end nuclear power. There were cheers around Germany when Chancellor Angela Merkel announced last year, in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan, a swift end to nuclear power in favor of renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
2.) How Cuba came close to owning 100 Soviet nuclear weapons during cuban missile crisis. The Soviet Union had secretly planned to leave over 100 nuclear weapons in Cuba after the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis but were so scared by Fidel Castro’s instability that they made up a law to retrieve them, according to a report.
3.) Fukushima disaster could have been avoided, nuclear plant operator admits. Tepco, which previously insisted nothing could have protected the plant, now says it failed to implement safety improvements.
4.) Key info omitted from nuclear reactor assessment. It has came to light that the core damage frequency (CDF) of reactor No.1 at the Kori Nuclear Power Plant in Busan exceeds International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards. The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), which operates the reactor, intentionally has omitted certain facts in its report on the proposed extension of the core.
5.) EU tightens sanctions against Iran. The EU has tightened its sanctions against Iran by imposing stricter measures targeting the country’s banking, trade and energy sectors.
Image credit: James Vaughan
