In going nuclear, Southeast Asia should learn from EU

SINGAPORE -- Southeast Asia is going nuclear. Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are planning to build two nuclear power reactors each, with several more proposed. The Philippines is looking at refurbishing a power reactor that was completed in the 1980s but was never put into operation because of safety concerns and corruption allegations. Malaysia is said to have made a decision to commission a nuclear reactor, with 2023 set as a target date. Singapore is expected to start a feasibility study later this year.


This is despite the many concerns over the hazards of nuclear power and disposing of dangerous radioactive waste. ASEAN countries are turning to nuclear power as an alternative source of energy to fossil fuels, as rapid economic development has led to surging demand for electricity. Another consideration is that nuclear power generation does not produce greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

But with nuclear power being new in the region and given the many safety issues regarding its use, it is timely that Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has called for cooperation among ASEAN countries in this area. At an energy policy meeting of ASEAN ministers last month, he urged them to “consider the possibility of cooperation in using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes”.

Under the Treaty of Bangkok that came into force in 1997, ASEAN countries are committed to a nuclear weapon-free zone in the region and to non-proliferation. This pact obliges members not to “develop, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess or have control over nuclear weapons”. So there should be little worry that countries with civilian nuclear facilities would seek to develop nuclear weapons.

Rather, the key concerns in the region over nuclear power are mainly related to safety. As has been pointed out, this is a region prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. There are also the problems of bureaucratic corruption, home-grown terrorist activity and a safety culture that is not strong enough in some places.
There are those in the region who believe that the building of nuclear power plants across a heavily populated region is dangerous. While advances in technology have meant plants that are safer than the one in Chernobyl, where a blowout in 1986 led to 56 direct deaths and thousands of cancer deaths, a poor safety culture could mean poor handling of everyday operations as well as of maintenance that could lead to problems in the long run. And apart from nuclear accidents, there are also the issues of nuclear theft and nuclear terrorism.


In addition, there is as yet no real solution to the larger environmental issues related to nuclear waste, which remains hazardous for thousands of years.

This is a good time, as countries in the region begin to embark on their own nuclear power programmes, to think of ways to coordinate such programmes and to cooperate and share information to ensure the safe use of nuclear power.

In devising the region's own framework and instruments, the European model is a good one to look at.

The Euratom Treaty, signed in 1957, established the European Atomic Energy Community. Beginning with just six nations initially, it expanded as the European Union (EU) did. This community was created to coordinate member states' research programmes for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, but today it helps to pool knowledge, infrastructure and funding of nuclear energy.

Among the tasks of the treaty are: to promote research and ensure the dissemination of technical information; to establish uniform safety standards to protect the health of workers and of the general public and ensure they are applied; to ensure all users in the EU receive a regular and equitable supply of ores and nuclear fuels; to make certain that civil nuclear materials are not diverted to other (particularly military) purposes; and to foster progress in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy by working with other countries and international organisations.

In addition, there is the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group, an independent authoritative expert body composed of senior officials from the national regulatory or nuclear safety authorities of EU member states. Its aims are to maintain and improve safety of nuclear installations in the EU and safety of management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, and financing the decommissioning of nuclear installations.

And then there is the European Nuclear Energy Forum, a platform for broad discussion on transparency issues as well as the opportunities and risks of nuclear energy. It gathers relevant stakeholders in the field, that is, governments, the nuclear industry, electricity consumers and civil society.

If ASEAN were to adopt key features of the EU's nuclear power cooperation, it would go a long way towards ensuring transparency and the sharing of information and cooperation, and help ensure the safe use of nuclear power in the region.


http://www.chinapost.com.tw/commentary/the-china-post/special-to-the-china-post/2010/08/11/268171/p1/In-going.htm