Constellation Says Calvert Cliffs Is Safe
BALTIMORE (AP) -- The operator of two nuclear reactors in southern Maryland says the facility remains safe amid news of partial meltdowns at reactors in Japan triggered by an earthquake and tsunami.
Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Nuclear Group operates the reactors at Calvert Cliffs in Lusby. Spokesman Mark Sullivan says the company's plants are designed to withstand any events indicated by the seismic history of the places where they're located.
More than 180,000 people have evacuated the area around Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, and up to 160 may have been exposed to radiation.
Critics of nuclear energy say the crisis in Japan may bring to an end the so-called "nuclear renaissance" in which nuclear energy has been touted as a safer, cleaner alternative to fossil fuels.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says all U.S. nuclear power plants are built to withstand earthquakes and tsunamis.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
