FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

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Nuclear supporters, of course, say the obvious way out of the bind is to push development of the breeder reactor, which makes its own "fuel" as it operates. Trouble is, that particular power producer is years away from design completion no one is sure if it will "breed" fuel fast enough anyway and it presents safety problems of a magnitude that makes an ordinary reactor look as harmless as a wood stove.

Back in the late 1960's and early 1970's, Westinghouse Electric a major manufacturer of nuclear power plants-was trying hard to get reactor construction contracts so hard, in fact, that the company "sweetened" its offers by promising potential clients "cheap" uranium. At the time, the ore was relatively inexpensive (about $6.00 a pound), and the company thought costs would eventually go even lower. But something went wrong: The price of uranium has skyrocketed (and will probably continue to do so) and Westinghouse now figures to lose around $127.5 million every year trying to live up to its premature promises. Worse yet, the company projects that if today's trends continue-it will suffer a whopping $1.5 billion loss between 1979 and 1982 alone.

What to do? Well, Westinghouse is looking for a legal way out of its obligations but the utilities (including Wisconsin Electric, Union Electric, and a good many others) have filed suits to force the company to come through with its original offers. Needless to say, Westinghouse is not pleased at the prospect.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions which represents 37 unions and 380,000 Aussie workers-has called for a ban on the mining and exportation of that country's uranium. The resolution (which defied an executive committee recommendation) begins, "In view of the danger of global radioactive pollution, the threat of nuclear proliferation, and the problems of disposing of radioactive waste " and goes on to forbid selling Australian uranium to countries that want to use the material for anything other than medical research and therapy. Since a large chunk of the world's uranium reserves is down under, the ACTU's admirable move should prove to be very significant indeed.

One frequent argument for nuclear power is that building all those reactors, recycling plants, and waste disposal facilities will provide jobs for thousands of unemployed workers but a utility organization's own research suggests otherwise. "In 1971," reports an Edison Electric Institute pamphlet, "the electric industry had an average capital investment of $224,230 behind each of its employees and during the past ten years, average investment has shown an increase of 84 percent, an indication of the increased efficiency in the use of manpower in the industry."

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