2007年VOA标准英语-France Relies on Nuclear Power as Answer to Ene

By Sonja Pace
Civaux, France
16 May 2007
 

Rising oil prices, the volatility¹ of supplies, and need for alternative energy sources that will not add to climate change and global warming - these are issues increasingly in the public limelight, hotly debated at international conferences and gatherings². While many countries are seeking to reduce their dependence³ on fossil fuels, France has already done so by turning to a very controversial source of energy - nuclear power. Today, as part of our weekly series "Searching for Solutions," we look at the use of nuclear energy. VOA's Sonja Pace visited France's most advanced nuclear power station in Civaux, western France, and has this report.

A bell tower, a church in the village square, small houses, and shops. Some would say this picturesque⁴ scene is typical of rural France.

 

General view of the Civaux power plant

But this is Civaux and Civaux is different. It is home to France's most advanced nuclear power station.

"We have two reactors⁶ in the plant," explains Pascal Maugey, the plant manager. "Each reactor⁵ produces 1,550 megawatts. That's the biggest reactor in the world. It's the newest plant in France and it's the most achieved technology."

The plant's two huge, and silent, cooling towers dominate this otherwise rural setting. So, how do local residents feel about living next door to a nuclear power station.

"It contributes a great deal to our little village and that's not a bad thing. It's now part of the countryside," says twenty-year-old Faiza, who works at Civaux's only bakery. "Anyway, if there is a risk, it is for everyone around here, not just our village. No, we're not afraid."

Six kilometers away in the somewhat larger community of Verrieres, innkeepers George and Edith Chevenault feel much the same.

Edith: "One just doesn't think about it. If we were right next to it [the plant], but we're kilometers away."

George: "No, we're not worried. Plus, it brings a lot of people here to the hotel, especially those working on the security and maintenance of the plant."

Verrieres' mayor, Jean-Claude Poiron, says people have become used to the plant, that they benefit from the taxes the electricity company pays to the local communities, and, he says, people believe nuclear power is necessary.

"Everyone can believe what he likes about energy issues," he said. "But reality is that we cannot go backwards⁷. We need more and more energy, and fossil fuels will run out. So, we believe that [nuclear-generated] electricity is crucial to allow us to become energy independent."

Energy independence was a crucial factor in the decision by French political leaders to embark⁸ on an ambitious nuclear energy program back in 1973, during the Middle East oil embargo⁹. France now has 58 nuclear power plants and derives¹⁰ nearly 80 percent of its electricity from them. All of the plants are operated by the national electricity company, EDF.

In Paris, financial analyst¹¹ Patrice Lambert de Diesbach is head of research at CM-CIC Securities. He says nuclear energy is not just a matter of national pride. He says, because nuclear energy costs so much less than fossil fuels, it makes good economic sense.

"When you have real cost of energy, of electricity, which is around 25 Euros ($34) per megawatt hour to compare with the spot price, which is above 50 Euros ($68) per megawatt hour, you can easily understand that it will be crazy to stop nuclear [energy production]," he said.

View of reactor n1 at the Civaux nuclear power station (file photo)

While opinion surveys show the majority of French people favor nuclear energy, there have been protests against nuclear power.

Xavier Renou, an environmental activist¹² and member of the anti-nuclear group, Sortir du Nucleaire, says: "Our main concern is that although you may have the best technology, you still need people to handle them and whenever you have human beings, you have human mistakes. Can we afford a single mistake? We've seen what happened in Chernobyl."

Chernobyl inevitably¹³ comes up as proof of the dangers of nuclear power. The 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine - along with the subsequent radioactive contamination - is considered the worst nuclear accident in history.

Back in Civaux, plant manager Maugey says Chernobyl could not happen again.

"Some people don't agree with nuclear power plants, but most people in France know that nuclear power in France is not the same like in Chernobyl. We cannot have a big bang, an explosion," he said.

Maugey insists today's technology would prevent such accidents.

But opponents are not convinced and say France needs to look to other energy sources such as solar or wind power.

Financial analyst De Lambert-Diesbach says wind and solar power are not economically viable¹⁴. But he acknowledges nuclear energy carries risks and is no perfect solution.

"Nuclear is bad but in my view nuclear is a necessary disease," he said. "We cannot avoid nuclear. It's dangerous. But today nuclear is a less worse solution at least to provide electricity for poor countries and for rich countries because this is the cheapest way to get electricity today."

Aside from concern about nuclear accidents, there is the ever present problem of what to do with the end by-product¹⁵ of nuclear energy. In some places, spent nuclear materials are buried deep in the ground in remote locations.

Civaux plant manager Maugey says French scientists have found a way to recycle nuclear waste.

"More than 80 percent of the nuclear waste in France is recycled," he said. "We use uranium for the core of the reactor and after three years, the uranium goes to a treatment plant in France and we separate the little waste in plutonium and plutonium can be re-used in other plants."

Maugey says the more highly contaminated material, that cannot be recycled, is stored above ground, while a very small amount, two percent of all nuclear waste, is mixed with molten glass to be stored deep underground.

He, like many of his compatriots, puts his hopes in future technology that, some day, may be able to render radioactive material harmless. 

And so, France forges ahead with its nuclear program.

While nuclear opponents argue that reliance on such a dangerous source of energy is sheer madness, supporters say that in a time of rising oil prices, the uncertain availability of energy resources and concerns about carbon pollution and global warming, the use of nuclear energy makes sense.

1 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

2 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

3 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

4 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

5 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

6 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

7 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

8 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

9 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

10 derives   

v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• English derives in the main from the common Germanic stock. 英语主要源于日耳曼语系。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derives his income from freelance work. 他以自由职业获取收入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

13 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

14 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

15 by-product   

n.副产品，附带产生的结果

参考例句：

• Freedom is the by-product of economic surplus.自由是经济盈余的副产品。
• The raw material for the tyre is a by-product of petrol refining.制造轮胎的原材料是提炼汽油时产生的一种副产品。