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Asks whether nuclear power is viable as a clean source of energy and an independent energy source and whether it should be used to attain targeted reductions in fossil fuels or as a method of electricity generation. Also considers whether nuclear energy should be used in preference to energy from a third country. Discusses problems such as technological safety, nuclear waste, costs and the individual energy policies of Member States. Cites the main issue as public perception as the subject is regarded as dangerous and secretive. Outlines how the debate in Europe is being re‐evaluated and with the evolution of new science and technology, the positive contribution of nuclear energy to sustainable development is a factor to be weighed in the balance.

THE ATOMIC energy industry is of recent origin and has many problems peculiar to itself. It uses new processes and techniques and is evolving rapidly. In these conditions the provision of adequate education and training facilities assumes increased importance, and it may be of interest to see how the Production Group of the Authority has accepted the challenge and developed schemes of education and training to meet its special needs.

This analysis develops and predicts a politically controversial idea, namely that nuclear fission power will be the dominant energy resource of the 21st century. Abundant energy enables higher and more efficient utilization of resources. Energy drives the engines of industrial and food production, transportation, building construction, space heating, transformation of landscapes, recreation, etc. This article compares other energy alternatives with the potential of nuclear fission power. It predicts that several hundred nuclear plants, each nominally of 10 gigawatts capacity, could supply the world’s energy requirements without creation of polluting greenhouse gases. Moreover, the superabundance of power this would represent could feed the world, supply its drinking water, and raise the per capita income and standard of living to levels where total human population would level off at an acceptable number. However, realization of such benefits requires unprecedented world cooperation, and these issues are also treated in this article.

I. Thermonuclear Fusion Progress examines two major thrusts in fusion research, namely, magnetic and inertial confinements, together with safety and environmental features. The prospects for a new enormous energy source in the twenty‐first century appear to be good. II. Global Warming and US Forestry Strategies considers seven US policy options relating to global warming with respect to forestry strategies. Concludes that a universally supported eco‐friendly solution is obstructed by political and vested interests, together with other factors.

The quantification of the effects of low‐level radiation is based mainly upon epidemiological studies. Recent reassessment of the data from Japanese survivors of the effects of radiation from Second World War bombing and from ankylosing spondylitis patients reveals an increased risk of leukaemia from low level exposures. The implications for the health of radiation workers and the management of the nuclear power industry are important. There is controversy over possible hormetic effects. A true hormetic effect has to be seen to affect the whole person. Although there is evidence at the cellular level that low‐level radiation may enhance the body′s immune system, this is not sufficient to justify widespread scientific support. This is particularly since the speculation on the effects of low‐level radiation and the connection with the occurrence of leukaemia is creating concern. The increases in the incidence of disease and the pattern of distribution remain difficult to explain while the task of translating the evidence from individual cases proves increasingly difficult in the context of varied types of radiation and the properties of particular radionuclides.

An environmental radioactivity monitoring programme has been established around the Tuwaitha nuclear site, Baghdad, Iraq, to ensure the safety of the public living around the site and to prove that the nuclear facilities operate within the limits set by competent Iraqi Authorities and international environmental protection standards. Exposure rate measurements were carried out with portable monitors. Gamma spectrometric analysis of environmental samples (soil, vegetables, fruits, and water) was carried out to ensure that radionuclides expected to be released from the site are not concentrated in the environment. The results of the monitoring programme indicated that the average exposure rate was similar to that of the background radiation in Iraq. Furthermore, some environmental samples contained very low‐activity concentrations of Cs‐137.

Despite being generally considered obsolete and part of a long gone age, steam power could be about to make a comeback, at least in the marine propulsion and process industries. The reason for this revival is the revolutionary PDX technology, which has been developed by the UK research and development company, Pursuit Dynamics.

At the Central Hall, Westminster, on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 15–16, the Corrosion Convention organised by CORROSION TECHNOLOGY will take place. Papers on a wide range of aspects of the corrosion problem will be delivered by authorities from industry and research. Delegates to the Convention will receive pre‐prints of all the papers, but for the benefit of readers who cannot attend we print below abstracts of a selection of the papers which are available as we go to press.

C.A.R. Crosland (1918‐1977) was a British politician and a Cabinet Minister. He was also a former lecturer in economics at Oxford. His interests in Labour politics and in the mixed economy led him to write The Future of Socialism. Published in 1956, it is a contemporary classic of political economy and social economics. Abridged when it was reprinted in 1964, however, the edition of the Future which readers today will know is significantly different from the original edition that exercised so much influence in the 1950s. Attempts to provide a variorum that identifies the differences between the editions. Finds that 172 pages were subject to alteration and deletion. Suggests the ways in which the changes might have altered the message that the author intended to convey.

I. Investigates the need for “building clean” rather than “first build and clean later”. This is to eradicate/reduce microbes in areas therefore reducing also the risk of contamination. II. Examines France′s role in the nuclear industry and also its record of insignificant “incidents” regarding safety. France also exports nuclear plants to other countries, so clarifying its safety record. III. Looks at, particularly, DDT and other pesticides and their effects on the environment.