Statement by Thing Siew Shuen in Petaling Jaya on
Thursday, 23rd October 2008:
It is irresponsible for the BN
government to opt for nuclear energy when we should ensure the regional
security and invest more in renewable energy and energy efficiency
measures
We are very concerned over the
announcement made by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry
that the BN government is considering nuclear energy as an alternative
source of power for the country. The paper will be tabled at a cabinet
meeting by the end of the year.
According to the news report, under
the proposal, the plant to generate nuclear power would be built in a
solid and rocky area in the peninsula. The implementation of the nuclear
fuel facilities would take about 12 to 15 years. Once in operation, the
nuclear plant could operate for 60 years after which it has to be
decommissioned.
We urge the ministry to justify the claims that nuclear power is safe,
environmentally friendly and more affordable in the long run, any
Malaysian who wants a safe, environmentally friendly and affordable
energy will not believe in such fallacies:
(1) It is not safe
Look at the catastrophic nuclear accident at Chernobyl on 26 April 1986,
a reactor in the Ukrainian SSR exploded. The explosions sent a plume of
highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere and drifted over
extensive parts of the western Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Western
Europe, Northern Europe, and eastern North America. Large areas in
Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly contaminated, resulting in the
evacuation and resettlement of over 336,000 people. Until today, the
contaminated area remains unsafe and unlivable.
The government is responsible for the security concern of ASEAN
countries. Are we going to bear the the substantial social/healthcare
cost of the nuclear plant accident for our neighbouring countries?
(2) It is not environmental- friendly
The nuclear fuel cycle release CO2 during uranium mining, energy
enhancement and plant construction. Uranium mining is one of the most
CO2 intensive industrial operations. In 1995, UK Government concluded
that nuclear power is one of the least cost-effective ways in which to
cut CO2 emissions.
According to a statement by the international nuclear power industry to
the Third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) in Kyoto, "Climate change is a
serious problem which needs to be tackled in a way which safeguards the
future for generations to come. Tackling climate change through the
development of nuclear power is both expensive and just swaps one
serious problem for another. Nuclear power cannot be considered to be a
clean source of electricity. "
(3) It is not affordable
First, uranium is finite. Second, Reactor decommissioning costs is also
a major uncertainty. Third, the cost of radioactive waste management is
high.
In the UK, the cost of dealing with the unwanted waste of the nuclear
industry is officially estimated at about US$70 billion (RM 476
billion). In German, the government announced policy to phase-out the
use of nuclear energy in 2000, now they are worried about how to shut
down nuclear power plants safely. Above all the problems of shutting
down a reactor is: How and where to dispose of the radioactive waste?
The government should be more responsible as all Malaysian are part of
the global citizen in the world. Not only we should reject the proposal
of nuclear plant from nuclear industry, we should also invest more in
energy efficiency measures and utilize our renewable energy sources such
as solar PV, solar concentrators, micro and pico hydro systems, bio-gas
and bio-mass, wind and tide.
* Thing Siew Shuen, Environmental Officer to DAP
Secretary-General
http://dapmalaysia.org