Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday inaugurated the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (Kanupp) during his one-day visit to Karachi. K-2 power plant, the largest in the country, will generate 1,100MW electricity upon completion. Nawaz congratulated the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission on the timely start of concrete pouring of K-2 power plant, which will be built by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). The prime minister thanked the Chinese government, CNNC, and other Chinese organisations for their cooperation in the construction of nuclear power plants. The World Nuclear Association had earlier estimated the cost of the new project at nearly $10 billion. The project had been in the media spotlight for quite some time with representatives of civil society organisations raising a number of reservations over it, with the chief concern being the close proximity of the project to the city. Given that a nuclear power plant consumes massive amount of water just for its cooling needs and also for steam generation, which then drives turbines that generate electricity. It is cheaper and easier if thousands of gallons of water are not transported inland on a regular basis. But considering that Pakistan is a country where health and safety regulation is only carried out unless a foreign investor makes it mandatory, it is worrisome that the location was chosen to be such a populated area, where risk of nuclear radiation exposure is greatest. Nuclear energy is often termed as the cleanest of energy sources, with minimal environment impact. But the process of mining and refining uranium hasn’t been coined a clean process. Actually transporting nuclear fuel to and from plants represents a pollution hazard. Also, once the fuel is used, you can’t simply take it to the landfill – it’s radioactive and dangerous. Over time, used nuclear fuel decays to safe radioactive levels, however this takes hundreds of years. The K-2 power plant will be the largest in the country, boasting to generate 1,100MW electricity upon completion. When hydro powerhouses like Tarbela have the capacity to generate nearly 4,900MW and is a relatively safer alternative to nuclear energy, why should billions of dollars be spent to risk nuclear contamination in the marine ecosystem of the Arabian Sea amongst posing other serious safety concerns?
pk.shafaqna.com
