September 8, 2015
If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, what would it be called if we do it worse the next time around?
The proposed South African new nuclear build programme is taking a direction opposite to global trends in nuclear safety. Japan announced this week that, despite lessons learnt from the Fukushima disaster, all local governments must have an evacuation plan for an area of 30 kilometres (reduced from the original 100 km) around any nuclear power plant[1]. The United States has defined a radiation plume exposure pathway emergency planning zone (EPZ) as consisting of an area about 10 miles (16km) in radius and an ingestion pathway EPZ about 50 miles (80km) in radius around each nuclear power plant. Yet, in the infinite wisdom of consultants, the Draft Environmental Impact Report[2] for the proposed local nuclear build in South Africa suggests a 3 (yes, THREE) kilometre planning zone for any impacts, incidents or accidents! (the graphic below shows the three EPZ’s)
Pelindaba Nuclear Plant Fallout Zone – NECSA
The Nuclear Energy Corporation of SA (NECSA) is riven by tussles internally; the National Nuclear Regulator is mostly funded by the nuclear industry and is clearly grossly underfunded; the proposed technologies for the build have yet to be successfully completed anywhere in the world; and the latest builds elsewhere are all well over budget and will generate the most expensive electricity of all options, at roughly double the current price of generation in South Africa by (for example) wind power as evidenced by information from the current Russian build in Turkey and the proposed build at Hinkley Point in the UK. There has yet to be a successful evacuation exercise around any nuclear facility anywhere in South Africa, with the last one near Koeberg sending people INTO the radiation plume instead of away. The evacuation exercises at Pelindaba reported by officials to the Public Safety Information Forum have been embarrassingly flawed year on year with no sign of improvement.
The nuclear insanity must stop – rational minds must step up and call a halt on this programme. From academia to the National Planning Commission; from a growing voice by the financial media and an ever increasing cry from civil society, South Africans (other than those benefitting financially) are united – no nuclear future for South Africa.
Our government clearly does not see the depth of opposition to the plans for a nuclear future for us – perhaps the next round of local and national elections will be a wakeup call.
Issued by Earthlife Africa Cape Town, a member of TSUNAMI – a network of over 50 organisations opposed to the proposed nuclear build.