Italy puts 1-year moratorium on nuclear energy

Premier Silvio Berusconi’s Cabinet approved the moratorium Wednesday in the wake of radiation leaks at a Japanese plant damaged after March 11 earthquake and tsunami.Italians rejected nuclear power in a 1987 referendum following the Chernobyl disaster, forcing the shutdown of its four working plants.Berlusconi’s government pledged to revive nuclear power to reduce dependence on foreign oil and natural gas, but no sites have yet been chosen in the seismically active country.Nuclear opponents say the moratorium is a ruse to delay a referendum on nuclear power until memories of the Japan disaster have dimmed.