日本核危機升級 全球關注核電安全

Governments around the world ordered urgent safety reviews of their nuclear power facilities last night as the crisis in Japan continued to escalate.

由於日本核危機持續升級，全球多國政府昨晚要求立即對本國的核電設施進行安全檢查。

The EU will host an emergency meeting of energy ministers and nuclear safety officials today to discuss the situation at the 150 nuclear power stations within its territories. A spokesman said the aim of the hastily organised meeting was to get first-hand informationabout what contingency plans were in place should an emergency occur.

歐盟將在今天舉行能源部長以及核安全官員緊急會晤，商討歐盟成員國境內共150座核電站的安全狀況。一位發言人表示，此次緊急會議的目的是獲取緊急情況發生時應急預案的第一手資料。

The Swiss government announced it was suspending plans to replace its ageing nuclear power stations until security and safety measures could be assessed.

瑞士政府宣佈，在重新評估安保措施之前，暫停老化核電站的更新改造計劃。

Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, ordered safety checks on all nuclear power plants to ensure they could withstand an earthquake or tsunami.

印度總理曼莫漢•辛格要求對境內所有核電廠進行安全檢查，確保可抵禦地震或海嘯。

　　In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a three-month moratoriumon government plans to postpone by more than a decade the decommissioningof Germany’s 17 nuclear reactors.

德國總理安吉拉• 默克爾宣佈，政府將把延長17座核電站營運期長達十多年的決定押後三個月。

This could lead to the immediate switch-off of the country’s two oldest plants, Mrs Merkel added.

默克爾補充稱，德國最老舊的兩座核電站將立即關閉。

“If a country like Japan with its high safety norms and safety standards can apparently not prevent the nuclear consequences of an earthquake and a tsunami, then the whole world … can’t just go back to business as usual,” she said.

她說：“日本核電安全規範和標準很高，很明顯這樣的國家都無法防止地震和海嘯帶來的核危害，那麼全球的核電站就都需要檢查了。”

In Britain, Chris Huhne, the Environment Secretary, insisted that the Government would examine closely any lessons to be learnt from the Japanese experience. The Government is planning a new generation of nuclear power stations which are due to begin generating power by 2020. Last night, critics said the plans should be put on hold until a major safety assessment had been conducted.

英國氣候變化大臣克里斯•胡尼堅稱，政府將從日本核危機中吸取教訓，密切監視本國核電安全。英國計劃開發新一代核電站，這批覈電站將從2020年開始發電。昨晚，批評人士指出，該計劃應於主要的安全評估完成後開始實施。

　Andy Atkins, the executive director of Friends of the Earth, said: “We can’t keep heading down the nuclear route until the lessons from this crisis have been learnt.”

“地球之友”環保組織的主管安迪 阿特金斯說：“我們首先要吸取此次核危機的教訓，才能進一步開展核計劃。”

While most countries, including Britain, are not at substantial risk from earthquakes, experts have pointed out that it was the power failure following the Japanese tsunami that led to the crisis at the Fukushima plant. Dr Paul Dorfman, a nuclear policy research fellow with the Rowntree Charitable Trust, said building nuclear facilities on the coast meant they could never be completely safe from flooding and other natural phenomena.

雖然英國等國家並不會受到此次地震的嚴重危害，但專家指出，日本海嘯之後的斷電導致了福島核電站危機。朗特里慈善基金會的核政策研究員保羅 多爾夫曼博士稱，只要在沿海建核電站，就無法完全避免洪水和自然現象引發的事故。

He explained: “The current proposals will see a proliferation of very large nuclear facilities built at a number of coastal locations vulnerable to rising sea levels, flooding and storm surge. This is clearly of major concern.”

他解釋道：“按照目前的規劃，在沿海建造的大型核電站會越來越多，這些核電站容易受到海平面上升、洪水和風暴潮的襲擊。我們最擔心這一點。”