US reactor deal 'to get green light'

The Bush administration is likely to give the go-ahead soon for the export of next-generation US-made nuclear reactors to China, a senior American official said. Nils Diaz, chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission told reporters the sale a first for US nuclear technology – would likely be approved within "the next couple of months"and would be conditional on promises from China that it would not sell on the technology to third countries. Approval would clear the way for Westinghouse Electric, a Pittsburgh-based firm owned by Britain's state-owned BNFL, to construct two of its advanced AP1000 reactors in China. The deal worth some US$2.7 billion had come into doubt amid US concerns over proliferation of nuclear technology. Those appear now to have been cleared up. "I haven't heard any significant opposition to the issue," Diaz said.