Murkowski: Japan’s Not Chernobyl

Some in Washington have speculated that Japan’s nuclear crisis will resemble the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown that scared the world. But Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, thinks that’s jumping the gun.

"Some have compared the event to Chernobyl and declared the nuclear power renaissance dead. But that comparison is incorrect and the prediction premature," she wrote in an opinion piece on CNN.com. "I believe nuclear power will continue to be a viable energy source in this country for decades to come."

The United States can use the Japan tragedy to upgrade our own plants’ safety, Murkowski says. “The U.S. nuclear industry has more than 50 years of operating experience and is continuously updating operating guidelines to make existing plants safer and more efficient.”