The World - News from Oct. 14, 1988

Mexico’s Senate gave its go-ahead for the country’s first nuclear power plant despite claims from environmental groups that the facility is unsafe and that the government has failed to draw up adequate emergency evacuation plans. The 64-seat Senate approved a resolution saying the Laguna Verde plant in the oil-rich state of Veracruz “is in the interest of the country.” Only four Senate members voted against the resolution, arguing that more public debate was needed. Initial loading of nuclear fuel is expected soon, although the government has not announced a date for the start-up. Construction of the plant began in 1972, and its final price tag is expected to total more than $3 billion.