Wednesday, May 11, 2011

ATLANTA (AP) -- The head of the Atlanta-based Southern Co. says an accident at a nuclear plant in Japan could eventually mean changes for one of his company's nuclear plants in Georgia.

Southern Co. CEO Thomas Fanning said Wednesday that the radioactive releases at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan could prompt regulators to require changes at existing U.S. nuclear plants.

Fanning said in New York that he doesn't know specifically what regulators will do. He suggested that new rules would be most likely to affect Plant Hatch near Baxley since it's similar in design to the malfunctioning plant in Japan.

Fanning said it is "logical" that regulators may issue new rules on systems designed to contain radioactive leaks, protect spent nuclear fuel and reevaluate the size of evacuation zones.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)