Why am I so bitter about nuclear plant being build in Malaysia?. Its simply too risky and there are other reasons too….
I don’t think we are having problems with energy and whatever energy source that we have should be managed sustainability and efficiently.
What about the hydro damn that is being build over east Malaysia (Bakun Damn)?. Last time it was said that the energy generated from that damn will be more than enough. We may be on track towards industrialized nation but that does that mean we need nuclear power plant ?. What about other friendlier source like solar energy?
My biggest concern is SAFETY. I am really sorry to say this, but I think we have a bad maintenance culture. And this is NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, we are talking about risk from RADIATION. This is no small matter!
Here are some facts that i dug up from the net. (the disadvantage side of perusing nuclear energy )
The Cons of Nuclear Energy
There are six main arguments against using nuclear power, though each one can be debated.
• Expense: Mining and processing uranium is costly, as is the building and operation of the power plants.
• Waste: Though nuclear fission does not release harmful gases, it does produce harmful waste products. This radioactive waste must be stored for as many as a thousand years before it is safe.
• Accidents: It is debatable that the risk of a nuclear accident is less than or equal to that of other fuel productions. Yet, two nuclear accidents continue to cause many people to fear nuclear power: 1) the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979 2) the devastating Chernobyl explosion in 1986 and the resulting contamination of over 750,000 square miles of land surrounding the plant. The fact that these incidents were most likely caused in part by, respectively, poor procedures and poor plant design, they highlight the factor that human error plays in the dangers of nuclear power.
• War and Terrorism: The plutonium produced in uranium fission can be used to make devastating bombs, like the ones dropped in 1945, which killed over 100,000 people. As well, the plants themselves could be targets for catastrophic terrorist attacks. However, many plants are specifically designed to control the possible damage associated with such an attack.
• Non-Renewable Resources: Uranium itself is a non-renewable resource. Though technology is available to dramatically reduce the amount needed for energy production, uranium can eventually be used up.
• Limited Energy Source: Nuclear power only produces electricity. Thus, it cannot solve all of our energy needs alone
Source: http://internationalaffairs.suite101.com/article.cfm/nuclear_energy_the_debate_about_future_power
My questions:-
If it only produces electricity, do we really need that much???
Wehave poor maintenance culture…are we ready to take on responsibility of taking extreme care of a nuke plant???
Do we have the highly professional and extreamly committed manpower to run this plant???
Do we have a place to dumb the toxic waste??? Isn’t that it self is BAD for the ENVIROMENT???
And again, isn’t Hydro Bakun Damn not enough??.
I really hope our 1malaysia goverment can understand people's worries.
