OPENING A CAN OF WORMS (2 of 2)

BATAAN NUKE PLANT: A CAN OF WORMS?

In the wake of an impending nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, the debate  about rehabilitating and reopening the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is getting hot once more like exposed fuel rods in a nuclear reactor. Should we go nuclear or not? What are the benefits and the disadvantages? Are the benefits greater than the disadvantages or otherwise?

 

Here's my two cents on the issue.

 

As Occam's Razor has always stated: "It is vain to do with more, what can be done with less", therefore, we should not spend more for an endeavor which may open a can of worms in the future and could cause damage to the country far greater than the endeavor's advantages to our people.

The plant has been mothballed for 25 years. While designed and built to the best of standards by the Westinghouse Corporation, imagine what 25 years of weathering, wear and tear could do even to such a structure of great design and construction. Even the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, which was designed to withstand earthquakes, did not anticipate the blow the tsunami has given it during the Great Sendai Earthquake. To reopen the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant and make it completely safe from all man-made or natural catastrophes will have to entail a huge amount of money which will be paid once more by the suffering masses who are already reeling from billions in national debt from previous administrations. Let us not add insult to their injury.

And even if we rehabilitate this plant to withstand any natural catastrophe, how about human error? Have we considered that there is always room for error in the operation of a nuclear power plant? Aside from Chernobyl and Three-Mile Island, there have been other nuclear disasters in history that have been caused by mere operational glitches: the Windscale Fire at Sellafield Nuclear Power Plant in England, the Chalk River Accident in Canada, and the Tokaimura Nuclear Accident in Japan, plus a dozen more. Sure we can train our personnel to be more careful and efficient, but this the first time the Philippines will be venturing in nuclear energy, let alone handle nuclear technology. There will be birth pains and operational errors which will cost our environment (because of contaminated natural resources) and the taxpayers (because of the costs of cleaning up radioactive material leaked in the environment). In our venture with nuclear energy, no matter how cheap our electricity will be, the costs of rehabilitating a dilapidated nuke plant as well as the costs of rehabilitating the environment and the public in case of a nuclear accident will always be shouldered by the taxpayers.

Therefore, is there any argument far greater than the costs of nuclear energy to our coffers and our environment? I guess there is none. Thus, I conclude that the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant should not be opened. There are other cleaner, safer and cheaper alternatives out there whose advantages to our environment and our people weigh heavier than the costs. Our politicians and experts should spend more money, time and effort considering these alternatives than wasting our time opening a can of worms. TSS

JAPAN BRACES FOR MELTDOWN

Reactor No.1 after the explosion. Reuters/Tepco

UPDATED (As of 8:30 PM, Manila Time) 

Okuma, Japan -- Officials at an embattled nuclear power plant in the northeast of Japan are desperately trying to cool down a nuclear reactor in the brink of a possible meltdown after a failed shutdown in the wake of Friday's devastating M8.9 earthquake. According to officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), cooling systems at another reactor inside the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant also failed hours after an explosion at reactor no. 1 occurred, stoking fears of a meltdown. The company has clarified that the explosion was caused not by a meltdown, but by hydrogen gas which formed after workers pumped seawater in the superheated reactor to cool it down. The hydrogen gas was allowed to escape in order to relieve pressure inside the reactor causing the explosion which destroyed the reactor's concrete housing but not the reactor itself.

The Day Japan Stood Still

UPDATED (as of March 12, 2011 7:30 PM, Philippine time) -- Japan, one of the fast-paced countries in the world, with its rapidly growing economy, rapid transport system and rapidly evolving technological society has stood still in the wake of the most powerful earthquake to hit the country in 100 years. The magnitude 8.9 earthquake occurred at 2:46 PM (local time) of March 11, 2011, some 150 kilometers off the coast of Sendai city in Miyagi prefecture. The quake, which damaged homes, buildings, roads, train systems, power plants and power lines was followed soon after by a 23-feet (10-meter) high tsunami which surged inland bringing with it debris of homes, farms and shipping -- some even burning after being washed away by waves of tremendous force.

Tsunami slams Japan after 8.9 magnitude quake

UPDATED (As of March 11, 2011 10:20 PM, Philippine Time) -- It almost seemed as if you're watching scenes from a disaster movie as Japanese national broadcaster NHK showed scenes of the tsunami wrecking havoc in Miyagi prefecture after a strong magnitude 8.9 earthquake which struck Japan at 2:35 PM (local time). The earthquake occured undersea, 150 kilometers off the coast of Sendai city and was felt as far as the capital Tokyo.

In videos and pictures provided by NHK, office equipment and fixtures were seen shaking and tumbling as the tremors rocked Sendai City. People were seen rushing out of buildings or going on rooftops. Some buildings were also seen on fire with emergency response units desperately trying to put the fires out. A few minutes later, the worst occurs as footage of the deadly tsunami is shown entering the port of Kamaishi in Iwate prefecture, washing away cars, yachts and warehouses into the city center. According to the US Geological Survey, as high as 10-meter waves hit cities in the northeast of the country, as shown in footages that followed soon after from Sendai. Farms, houses, vehicles -- some even on fire -- were pushed away by rapidly moving water from the sea. Some vehicles in highways are seen turning back, while others were simply caught without warning. From the helicopter footages, you can see how powerful this tsunami is.