KARACHI: Nuclear scientists, civil rights activists, academia and students discussed at length the various issues and challenges for setting up nuclear power plants in the country along with concerns and perceptions which cause resentments in the masses related to their lives and climate change.
The panel discussion was one of the rare in recent time organised by Habib University on Saturday which invited experts leading a campaign against the construction of K-2 and K-3 projects and the other who are supporter of the establishment of power producing projects, as against, discussions and events taken place separately by two parties for public awareness to advocate their views.
Experts against of the nuclear projects concerned about the environmental fallout of radiations associated with the process of electricity generation through nuclear enrichment. And, the threat it pose to marine animals and plants by releasing processed water.
Dr A H Nayyar, a physicist and nuclear activist, said the setting up K-2 and K-3 plants is greater risks to the lives of millions of people living in metropolis, mainly those residing in nearby localities who will be exposed to absorb harmful radiations. He said the construction of the plants are being done violating the international rules stating that project should be developed not less than 15-kilometer of the residential area, as a massive level of destruction and loss of human lives could be occurred in case of any untoward incident, which had happened in past in different countries.
He emphasised that nuclear plants are only 28 percent efficient as against of renewable power plants, which are efficient and being set up aggressively by different countries unlike Pakistan, which is lacking in this field despite avenues and advantage of setting projects of wind and solar energy along with the growing demand of electricity in the country.
Referring to Fukushima incident of Japan in 2011, Arif Bilgrami, an architect and active campaigner against nuclear power plant, said that hundred thousands of people were relocated from the societies situated in the surrounding of plants, and the concerns about K-2 and K-3 project is about the safety of the big population of densely populated city, which is also economic heartland of the country.
Dr Nausheen Hafeeza Anwar, Assistant Professor at IBA said the nuclear projects are being constructed with a high cost of $10 billion compare with different projects. She said the small nuclear projects could be constructed instead of mega plants, which may result efficiency in the system and effective distribution and supply of electricity.
Former Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) chairman Dr Ansar Pervaz responded to concerns of the panellists saying that K-2 and K-3 projects are advanced and based in the category of generation four with sophisticated technology and mechanism with prevention and safety of accidents.
He said the present nuclear plants are emitting negligible radiation as against of radiations in different cities of Pakistan, which varies from 5 msv to 10 msv, whereas during CT-scan the radiations are measured at 30 msv, which are not harmful at all for the individuals.
The power plants are being constructed in a way that danger is unlikely, even in worst scenario the damage could spread up to 5-km in the surrounding area whereas the project are 11-km away from population on the demand of Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA).
He said that nuclear plants are set up near seaside and a city to generate electricity for domestic and industrial sector whereas the contribution of economy estimated at Rs 10 billion annually with 2,000 generation of jobs. On the other hand, desalination plants will be working to provide clean water to area people with no harmful affects to marine animals. Referred to US, he said there are 28 nuclear plants being operated in a state with population located in less than 5-km radius. It is because of the fact that safety designs are made advanced to reduce the risk up to minimum level.
K-2 and K-3 plants are tested and safest as any radioactivity disturbance could be controlled for 72 hours in addition to barriers of first containment and second containment, besides safety equipments, which are designed to operate automatically without engineers and electricity are installed at plants, said Pervaz who recently retired from the PACE and supervised the designing and planning of nuclear project. He said the nuclear plants are up to 85 percent efficient and highly reliable than renewable energy with less efficiency and credibility, however the cost of the projects are expensive for its construction but its operations are low cost which generate the cheaper electricity than any other resources.
Pervaz concluded that power projects could be established using sources like coal, thermal, solar and wind but nuclear should be added in an energy mix because of the fact that it produces cheaper electricity.
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