France Calls for Global Nuclear Safety Standards

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is calling for new international nuclear safety standards, warning radiation leaks at Japan's Fukushima Power Plant could affect the entire world. Sarkozy is calling for nuclear officials from the G20 group of industrialized countries to discuss the issue during a May meeting.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is the first foreign leader to visit Japan since it was hit by the earthquake and tsunami¹ on March 11.
At a news conference following a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Sarkozy warned that what happens at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant could have consequences for what he called the "global village."
Sarkozy said it is necessary to correct the discrepancy² that there are no international safety standards for nuclear power plants. He said that in cooperation with the Japanese prime minister, he plans to organize a meeting of nuclear officials from the G20 countries to prepare for the IAEA nuclear safety summit in June. This would ensure, he said, there will be international safety standards in place by the end of the year.
The Japanese prime minister thanked France for its help, but said the first priority for Japan was to prevent the crisis at the Fukushima plant from getting worse.
Kan said that once the situation has been contained to some degree, then officials will have to analyze³ why the accident has gotten bigger and bigger. By studying that, he said Japan will have to consider what measures can be taken to prevent a recurrence⁴, and this should be agreed upon internationally.
An extra 20 French nuclear technicians are arriving in Japan to help tackle the crisis at the Fukushima plant.
France, which this year is chairing the Group of 20 economic powers, is the world's most nuclear-dependent country, producing 75 percent of its electricity from 58 reactors⁵.
Sarkozy said those calling for all nuclear power plants to be shut down in the wake of the Fukushima crisis should be more realistic.
He said everyone is working hard to reduce CO2 emissions⁶ from power generation. But there are not hundreds of solutions to reduce emissions, he said, and that is why this is not a question of choice, but of nuclear safety, because there is no alternative. He also said alternative energy plans cannot replace nuclear power plants, so safety standards must be strengthened.
In the ocean next to the Fukushima power plant, technicians are reporting the highest levels of radiation yet, about 4,385 times higher than the legal limit.
Japan's nuclear safety agency insists this poses no danger to human health, however, as everyone has been evacuated⁷ from the vicinity and fishing in the area is banned.
Japan's Kyodo news agency says authorities have been unable to collect up to 1,000 radiation-contaminated bodies from inside the evacuation zone.
The confirmed death toll⁸ from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami rose to more than 11,400 with 16,500 still missing.

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 discrepancy   

n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾

参考例句：

• The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
• There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。

3 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

4 recurrence   

n.复发，反复，重现

参考例句：

• More care in the future will prevent recurrence of the mistake.将来的小心可防止错误的重现。
• He was aware of the possibility of a recurrence of his illness.他知道他的病有可能复发。

5 reactors   

起反应的人( reactor的名词复数 )； 反应装置； 原子炉； 核反应堆

参考例句：

• The TMI nuclear facility has two reactors. 三哩岛核设施有两个反应堆。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The earliest production reactors necessarily used normal uranium as fuel. 最早为生产用的反应堆，必须使用普通铀作为燃料。

6 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

7 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。