Viability of the civil nuclear industry

There are some countries, notably France and Eastern Bloc countries, in which nuclear power continues to be promoted confidently and with determination. Elsewhere, perceptions of the future role of nuclear power have changed dramatically. In the USA, FR Germany, Sweden, and a number of other industrial and semi-industrial countries, nuclear programs and forecasts have been severely cut back since 1974, and it is unlikely that these countries will see a substantial resumption of nuclear investment in the next few years. Why this should have happened against a background of growing energy scarcity, and why confidence in nuclear power has survived in some countries but not in others, are two questions explained in this report. The main concern is not with the energy situation, but with the predicament of the civil nuclear industry and of the reactor industry in particular. (MCW)