The Nation - News from Aug. 23, 1988

President Reagan signed legislation increasing significantly the liability of nuclear power companies for compensation of the public in the event of an accident. The bill extends for 15 years the Price-Anderson Act, passed in the 1970s. The new law, like the old one, requires private insurance of $150 million per reactor. It increases from $5 million to $63 million per reactor the second-tier insurance, provided by the federal government. Altogether, the amount of compensation available in the event of a nuclear accident would be more than $7 billion. The act that is being extended also “makes feasible commercial nuclear power generation,” the President said at his ranch near Santa Barbara.