The World - News from Oct. 16, 1988

Technicians began loading Mexico’s first nuclear power plant with uranium amid continued controversy marked by angry protests from national environmental groups and nearby residents. The loading process at the Laguna Verde plant in Veracruz, 200 miles east of Mexico City, is expected to take about a month. In the wake of the protests, Deputy Energy Minister Jose Alcudia Garcia said the government “has the absolute conviction that Laguna Verde is the best thing for the people and does not endanger their health or well-being in any way.” The plant will generate up to 4 million kilowatts of power a year at full operating capacity, the government said.