Jim Erickson, with bureau reporting – Nuclear generating plants spew no pollutants into the atmosphere, they provide far more energy per unit of fuel than any other source, and spent fuel can be reused. But people fear the genie held captive beneath the cooling towers.

The recent fire at Japans Tokai facility raises new questions about nuclear safety and rekindles memories of accidents such as the partial-meltdown at Three Mile Island in the U.S. and the nightmarish explosion at Chernobyl that killed 35 and is blamed for sickening thousands.

Asia is home to 112 nuclear reactors, which account for a little more than 5% of the total electricity generated. The regions energy needs are increasing, and several countries are considering additional plants. But in nearly every case public concern over safety has delayed construction.

Indonesias research and technology minister B.J. Habibie announced in early March that a nuclear power project on Javas north coast had been pushed back 30 years to 2030. Public opposition was one factor, cost was the other. Indonesia has cheaper alternatives: gas, oil and geothermal energy. The Philippine government is considering converting its mothballed nuclear plant to operate on natural gas.

Even in countries not so blessed with resources, anti-nuclear activists seem to have the edge. Taiwan, which produces nearly one-third of its power at three nuclear plants, has been trying to build a fourth since 1983. A $1.8 billion construction contract was awarded to General Electric in 1996; the decision sparked massive protests and forced the government to promise that the unpopular plant would be its last.

Safely impounding radioactive waste is one of the nuclear industrys most politically charged dilemmas. Yet some countries see that as the lesser of environmental evils. China produces most of its electricity using the dirtiest of methods, coal-fired plants. Its two nuclear plants contribute less than 1% of total output. Officials would like that number to grow.

Chinas technocrats may be the exception. Even in India, a country whose potential energy consumption is huge, the policy is for nuclear plants to produce just 2% of its electricity. Two percent is nothing. There is no need for any of them, says Bharati Chaturvedi of the environmental group Shristi. In the fallout from the most recent accident, voices like Chaturvedis will ring even louder.