American Notes NUCLEAR ENERGY

Two decades of legal squabbling and unruly protests have turned the Seabrook, N.H., nuclear-power plant into a symbol of everything that is wrong with atomic energy in the U.S. But the start-up of low-power testing at Seabrook last week signaled that a fresh wave of pro-nuclear sentiment is stirring in Washington. The testing permit was the second granted in two months: the first went to Long Island's Shoreham nuclear plant, even though the reactor's owner had already decided to junk it.

Why the sudden fondness for controversial reactors? The new Energy Secretary, James Watkins, is strongly pro-nuke, as is his boss, George Bush. So is Bush's chief of staff, John Sununu, the former New Hampshire Governor who championed Seabrook against objections of his neighboring Governor, Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts. While Sununu has moved to the White House, Dukakis still sits in Boston, 40 miles from Seabrook.