CNHI News Service

JOPLIN, Mo. - An environmental advocacy group, reacting to Japan's nuclear disaster, has urged Missouri to back off plans for a second nuclear plant in the state.

The Missouri Coalition for the Environment said the radiation nightmare created at the Fukushima Daiich plant from the massive earthquake and tsunami "demonstrates the dangerous and unreliable nature of nuclear power in the event of a significant natural disaster."

Kat Logan, executive director of the group, said in a statement this week that it also shows "now is certainly not the time to pursue the nuclear option" for Missouri's energy needs.

Several utility companies formed a consortium last fall to begin work on a site permit for a second nuclear power plant in central Missouri near the state's present nuclear facility.

The siting process determines whether the proposed location is suitable, but it is not a commitment to build the plant.

Any site and construction plan would need approval of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission before work on the plant could begin.

The Missouri environmental group spoke out at the same time that U.S. Sen. Joe Liebermann of Connecticut, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, called for a moratorium on new nuclear plants in the United States.

But utility officials and others said the disaster in Japan is not a reason to halt construction.

The Empire District Electric Co., which serves Joplin and is a party to the utilities consortium, said nuclear energy is a "reliable and affordable" alternative to fossil fuels to meet future needs.

Brad Beecher, incoming president and chief executive officer of Empire, said the federal government would not allow a nuclear plant to be built in Missouri unless the construction plans took into consideration a worst case natural disaster.

The process for approval, Beecher said, "looks closely at safety and suitability."
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Details for this story were provided by the Joplin, Mo., Globe.