Antinuclear activist: The closing of the nuclear power plant is a vict

let us simplify the argument -

Antinuclear activist:
Power industry cannot operate nuclear plants safely --> shut down the nuclear plant.

Plant manager:
cheap power from nonnuclear sources + Cost of mandated safety inspections and repairs --> shut down of the plant. (hence, reasons are economic, not safety related).

The plant manager tries to weaken the antinuclear activist's argument by stating an alternate cause.

We have been asked to support the activist's claim. that is any answer option that states that safety was indeed the cause, not economic reasons is the correct answer.

let us look at the answer options -
A - Incorrect.
"expired license" does not necessarily mean "unsafe". Hence, we cannot say for certain that "safety concerns" led to the plant's closure.
B - Correct.
If safety concerns made the plant uneconomical to operate, then indeed the ultimate cause for closing was "safety".
C - Incorrect.
Strengthens the plant manager's argument by implying that the reasons must indeed be economic.
D - Incorrect.
Strengthens the plant manager's argument by implying that the reasons must indeed be economic.
E - Incorrect.
Not relevant to the argument. The argument talks about safety and economics being the reasons for plant shut down.
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Antinuclear activist: The closing of the nuclear power plant is a victory for the antinuclear cause. It also represents a belated acknowledgment by the power industry that they cannot operate such plants safely. Nuclear power plant manager: It represents no such thing. The availability of cheap power from nonnuclear sources, together with the cost of mandated safety inspections and safety repairs, made continued operation uneconomic. Thus it was not safety considerations but economic considerations that dictated the plant’s closing.

Which one of the following, if true, most strongly supports the activist claim of victory?

(A) The plant had reached the age at which its operating license expired.
(B) The mandate for inspections and repairs mentioned by the manager was recently enacted as a result of pressure from antinuclear groups.
(C) The plant would not have closed if cheap power from nonnuclear sources had not been available.
(D) Per unit of electricity produced, the plant had the highest operating costs of any nuclear power plant.
(E) The plant that closed had been able to provide backup power to an electrical network when parts of the network became overloaded.


The question asks to strengthen the activitist claim not the managers, so option C and D are out.
option A is out because if the license is expired then its not anybodies victory ,option E does not support anybodies claim,
Option B is the correcly choice which correcly strengthens the activitist claim as the inspection and repaires mandated by the inspection were becoming expensive,these inspections were enacted as a result of pressure from antinuclear groups.

Conc : It is safety and not economic reasons that have lead to closing of Nuclear Plant X
Strengthen by showing Safety was the major concern and not economic leads

(A) The plant had reached the age at which its operating license expired. Not related to safety !! out

(B) The mandate for inspections and repairs mentioned by the manager was recently enacted as a result of pressure from antinuclear groups. Cool that means safety measures enforced by activists--> economic reasons for the closing

(C) The plant would not have closed if cheap power from nonnuclear sources had not been available. Not related to safety !! out


(D) Per unit of electricity produced, the plant had the highest operating costs of any nuclear power plant. Not related to safety !! out


(E) The plant that closed had been able to provide backup power to an electrical network when parts of the network became overloaded. Not related to safety !! out
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