Nuclear nightmares to avoid

As Japan’s nuclear nightmare continues to unfold, the global repercussions still being largely unknown and localised ones being both horrific and long-term, it makes sense to ponder the viability of nuclear power as a form of electricity generation when there are so many other, much safer, options.

Here at home, in Pakistan, for instance, where approximately 2.4 percent of our power is generated by commercial nuclear power plants, 65.2 percent from fossil fuels, and 33.9 percent from hydroelectricity schemes, does it really make sense to continue, as we are currently in the process of doing - expanding nuclear power capabilities over, for example, increasing hydroelectricity generation which offers other benefits, including flood control and water storage?

Supporters of nuclear power claim that this offers environmentally clean power at, once the massive initial outlay has been recovered of course, a reasonable cost, pushing, at every opportunity, that nuclear power does not contribute to global warming during its generation stage - although how people use that resultant power to pollute the atmosphere is a moot point indeed.

The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), is solely responsible for operating the three licensed commercial nuclear power plants currently in operation: These being the now outdated and basically ‘expired’ Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP-I) at Paradise Point on the coast just outside the city, which entered commercial operation in December 1972; CHASNUPP-I at Chasma in Punjab, which entered commercial operation in September 2000; and CHASNUPP-II, also at Chasma in Punjab, which is due to commence commercial operation in August this year.

KANUPP is a relatively small 125 MWe CANDU Canadian pressurised water reactor whilst both CHASNUPP-I and CHASNUPP-II at 300 MWe are of Chinese origin. CHASNUPP-III and CHASNUPP-IV, with the same brotherly Chinese help and of 340 MWe, are on the cards and understood to be under construction. In addition, KANUPP-II at 1,000 MWe was started, but then put on hold in 2009 and KANUPP-III at 1,000 MWe has not yet got off the drawing board. The goal, according to PAEC, is to produce 8,800 MW of nuclear electricity by 2030. Plans for another 11 nuclear power plants are currently being kicked around and these are completely aside from the existing and proposed nuclear reprocessing plants and nuclear facilities for non-civilian use.