The environmental impact of nuclear power

Various recent and forthcoming inquiries into the future of nuclear power g eneration (the House of Lords, the Environment Agency, the Royal Society, t he Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Commission for Environmental Pol lution, the Government commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissi ons and to sustainable development) mark an important point in the history of nuclear power. This paper ex;lores what the assumptions might be in the context of the current sustainable development debate. It considers the cha nges that will be required to achieve a more mature approach to the future and the problems that will have to be confronted and resolved in order to m eet those changes.