Coming at a time when the energy usage of the US and industrialising nations has come into the spotlight, nuclear advocates have long been arguing that even though nuclear waste and spent fuel pose very large problems in their safe containment, transportation and disposal, the benefits of a much reduced carbon dioxide output during energy generation were worth investigating.

It seems that the climate change debate is helping the cause of nuclear energy around the world, which had been experiencing a poor public image since the 80s, with incidents like Three Mile Island and Chernobyl fresh in the minds of many. What was once considered as an unthinkable option a few years ago is now becoming the only realistic quick-fix solution.