The Selangor government views with concern the statement made yesterday by Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Fadillah Yusof concerning plans for the development of nuclear power in Malaysia, including a bill in Parliament.
We are concerned as to why the new state government’s input has not been sought in this process and why nuclear power has been identified as an alternative source of power generation for Malaysia by the year 2020.
Nuclear power bears considerable safety, waste disposal and cost issues, and the industry is in decline worldwide. The relevant ministries and the federal government also need to explain why cleaner renewable energies and energy efficiency measures have not been prioritised.
Malaysians have a right to know where these nuclear plants may be sited and why the government is keen on importing nuclear age technology when the solar and renewable energy age is upon us.
The US National Academy of Sciences has concluded that there is no safe level of radiation. Even at low exposures, negative health impacts such as cancer can result. Leukaemia, blood disorders, spontaneous abortions, stillbirth, and increased chances of heart disease, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, asthma, and allergies are some of the common ailments associated with radiation poisoning.
The production and consumption of nuclear fuels produces high levels of toxic waste. Typically only one percent of mined ore becomes fuel-grade. The remainder leaves a legacy of toxic waste and thorny disposal and storage solutions.
Nuclear reactors can generate up to 50 tonnes of high-level radioactive waste per reactor each year. What will happen to this waste? Will it be dumped in Malaysia, exported to pollute another country or be sold as material for nuclear weapons?
Will the government’s desire for nuclear energy inadvertently facilitate nuclear weapons proliferation?
Where are the potential dump sites for nuclear waste? Malaysia already has a bad track record of managing the disposal of radioactive waste. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Asian Rare Earth (ARE) company in Perak engaged in open dumping of radioactive waste next to populated areas.
Even though the government declared the radiation levels at the illegal dumpsites to be safe, nearby villagers, including children, developed leukaemia and many babies were born with congenital defects. Community residents who took ARE to court were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) during Operasi Lalang.
Even if this situation were not to repeat itself, concerns still remain over the disposal of waste given that Malaysia still has far to go in improving its culture of environmental responsibility.
How safe will nuclear power be?
A still prevalent culture of official secrecy and lack of accountability raise questions about the safe and effective management of a risky and hazardous technology such as nuclear power.
Even countries such as the US, Britain, France and Japan struggle to establish genuinely secure dumpsites as the radioactive half-life of waste materials can span millions of years. Radioactive materials are typically hazardous up to ten half-lives.
Where will trained nuclear engineers come from to safely run and manage these proposed plants? Even the US is facing a shortage of adequately trained personnel, largely due to the stagnation and decline in the popularity and financial prospects of the nuclear industry.
Nuclear plants worldwide enjoy unique legal exemption from extensive liability for catastrophic accidents. Will the same be granted in Malaysia? What does this say about the safety of nuclear power? How will this impact nearby businesses and residents?
Does Malaysia have the capacity to deal with the worst-case scenario of a reactor meltdown or leak? Does Malaysia even want to accept this risk when cheaper and safer energy alternatives are available?
How will reactors be safeguarded against the threat of terrorism or military aggression?
Reactors require enormous quantities of water to operate. Most states in Peninsular Malaysia are struggling to meet commercial and residential demand without having to face the burden of feeding precious water through nuclear plants.
Since nuclear plants typically discharge some waste into water and the environment, how can the government justify the costs to society and nature given that even low levels of radiation exposure are dangerous?
Will Malaysians be truthfully informed about radiation pollution or will disclosure mirror the Air Pollution Index during the haze crisis?
Who will the money come from, and who will it go to? Studies have documented that the first generation of reactors in the US cost over 200 percent more than originally estimated. New generation nuclear plants being built in Europe are experiencing both cost overruns and construction delays.
The Olkiluoto plant in Finland is now two and a half years behind schedule, and 50 percent over budget, due in part to major construction mistakes on safety significant structures.
The costs of nuclear tend to be underestimated, typically the enormous capital costs are downplayed and the low operating costs are put forward instead. The ministry comments yesterday follow this line.
Cheaper and safer options abound
The ministry claims initial costs will be RM6 billion but, including financing charges and cost overruns – which can range from 200 percent to 380 percent - today's reactors typically cost more than RM35 billion (US$10 billion) each to build. How much of this bill will Malaysian taxpayers foot?
Nuclear energy has been heavily subsidised in rich countries, yet it is still not as competitive as emerging renewable energy technologies. Right now, nuclear costs about 14 to 15 US cents per kilowatt hour, whereas wind energy costs 7 cents and solar energy, whose price is continually decreasing, costs around 20 cents – and this is without the massive subsidies nuclear enjoys.
In the next few years, solar and nuclear energies are predicted to cost the same. Since solar does not have the same capital and waste disposal costs of nuclear, the real cost of solar, to economy, society and the environment, will be much lower.
The trend for nuclear energy is rising costs while renewables are becoming more affordable, yet the Malaysian government is planning for a nuclear rather than renewable future.
Forbes magazine described the 1970s and 1980s nuclear expansion in the US as the "the largest managerial disaster in US business history, involving US$100 billion in wasted investments and cost overruns, exceeded in magnitude only by the Vietnam War and the then savings and loan crisis".
We hope that Malaysia is not poised to make a similar mistake when cheaper and safer options can be developed.
Combining energy efficiency measures and renewable energy development would eliminate any justification for nuclear power. We would also reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and help the international effort to protect the global climate.
Many of the ways in which Malaysians consume and use energy are inefficient. Depending on the process or component, energy efficiency measures can realise four- to ten-fold improvements that simultaneously reduce resource costs and energy demands.
Energy efficiency measures would not only save the multi-billion ringgit expense of a nuclear power plant, but also help reduce peak energy demand for Tenaga to meet, and energy bills for consumers to pay. Currently we are running and paying for a surplus of more than 40 percent.
Nuclear power is just a supply-side solution, and a risky and expensive one at that. The government needs to take a bigger view of energy supply and consumption and assess where affordable and dramatic improvements can be made.
Better planning and design of buildings can reduce lighting and cooling costs. Making solar electricity more affordable and accessible can turn entire residential neighbourhoods into 'power plants' that are clean, have low operating costs, and eliminate the cost and inefficiency of transmitting electricity from remote plants. Further, Malaysia is fast becoming a major producer of photovoltaic cells.
The Selangor government is opposed to the development of nuclear power plants and hopes that other Pakatan Rakyat states will also join it in its stance against nuclear energy and for an energy efficient and renewable future for Malaysia.
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