Rep. Ron Paul: Reaction to nuclear crisis 'overblown'

Much of the reaction to the nuclear power crisis in Japan is "overblown," but the U.S. seems unlikely now to build another nuclear power plant, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said Tuesday night.

"My guess is, when the dust settles, it won’t be nearly as bad as some of the scare tactics we have been reading about in the past couple of days," Paul, an advocate of nuclear power, told Fox Business Network. "Nuclear power is very dangerous, but it is also the safest form of energy we have.”

Nevertheless, Paul was pessimistic about the possibility of the U.S. building another nuclear power plant any time soon.

“I wouldn’t bet a lot of money on it. I’m scared to death they are going to quit building nuclear power plants," Paul said. "After 35 years we finally got around to doing it, and I imagine just like they closed down drilling in the Gulf, they will close down any development. If the Middle East really blows up, then people might wise up and say maybe there are alternative sources of energy we can use. It can be safe. It is risky.”
 
Given the crisis in Japan, sparked by a massive earthquake and tsunami, some lawmakers have called for a review of nuclear energy plants in the U.S. as well as planned nuclear projects. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Sunday there should be a moratorium on such projects until the crisis is over and the country is able to "absorb" what happened.