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Nuclear Industry

I heard the Chairman of the Committee change the unit of analysis. He was talking about Europe; I was talking about Britain. I am pretty sure that, if we include fusion, public support for energy research in Britain is still overwhelmingly for nuclear. The other massive subsidy for the nuclear industry is in the form of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965. It limits the liability of nuclear installations for nuclear accidents to about £150 million and promises Government money of up to £350 million per accident over and above the amount of £150 million. It leaves any excess damage on the heads of the victims. The nuclear industry should, like other industries, pay its way. It clearly does not when it comes to nuclear accidents. Let us consider the estimates for the cost of Chernobyl. They vary from around £4 billion to more than £100 billion and are way higher than the liability limitations that the Act grants to the industry. The industry says that, without that cap and hidden subsidy, the risk would be uninsurable, but to echo what the Chairman of the Committee said, that is the industry’s problem. If a risk is uninsurable, it might be because no one should be taking it.