A leading Israeli physicist has recommended to the government that Israel concentrate on nuclear power to produce electricity and make it independent of imported oil. According to Prof. Arnon Dar, dean of the department of physics at the Haifa Technion, nuclear power is the safest, cleanest and most reliable energy source.
In a report to the government made public today, Dar noted that Israel consumes the equivalent of eight million tons of oil a year, 98 percent of which is imported. About 70 percent of the oil is consumed to produce electricity. The only alternatives for at least the next 20 years are coal and nuclear power, Dar said.
According to the scientist, coal-burning power plants, such as the one which recently opened at Hadera, produce vast quantities of carbon dioxide and other health hazards. Nuclear power, he contended, is safer and creates fewer ecological problems. Dar claimed that reports of dangers inherent in nuclear energy plants were over publicized and proved groundless. “Nuclear plants are technologically superior, cleaner to operate and allow for storage of fuel in a small area. It will make us independent.” Dar said.
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