Madam, - The claim that nuclear power has any sensible role in ameliorating the ravages of climate change needs to be challenged. I agree with Dr William Reville (August 5th) that the biggest problems associated with nuclear power are waste disposal and the possibility of a catastrophic accident. But there are other problems, including cost, the future need for fast-breeder technology and the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
The nuclear industry is always promising to deliver in the future but this future never seems to arrive. The industry is developing new processes for dealing with nuclear waste but there is no guarantee that they will work the way they are supposed to, and certainly the track record of the industry would not encourage optimism..
The best way to deal with future energy needs and climate change is to reduce the amount of energy we waste first. This is an area where there are many advanced technologies available now. Total world energy demand could be reduced by over a third using available technologies. This would allow time gradually to phase out fossil fuels and replace them with renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, wave, tidal and biomass.
It would be a mistake to invest further huge sums of money in nuclear power. - Yours, etc.,
NICK ARMSTRONG, Pine Copse Road, Dundrum, Dublin 16.