EXPRESSING concern over the reliability and security of the proposed Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Monday, as reported in the press, asked the government to disclose information about the project publicly as the people will ultimately bear the cost burden and experience its pains and gains, if any. Though nuclear power plant is a cheap and low-carbon source of energy, its advantage depends on operator’s skill, capability and risk preparedness, and the disadvantage is a high disaster risk and the possible death of millions. While Russian nuclear reactors are widely considered unsafe and unreliable, Bangladesh’s agreement with Russia to set-up nuke plant could be seen as setting up of a ‘would be hell’. Not only the environmental hazards and dangers for human catastrophe, the increase of financial costs from USD 3b to USD 24b within three months is also a matter of deep concern.
According to a report carried by The New Nation on Tuesday, the corruption watchdog demanded for full transparency in the plant construction period after Russia and Bangladesh has signed the accord. Moreover, the justifiability of setting up nuke plant in the country which largely dependent on foreign aid and has scarcity of skill and necessary equipment for ensuring safety from high-risk vulnerability is a big question. Rights activists also expressed their anxiousness and asked the government to refrain from the project considering the population density of the country and high risk of radiation.
The 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine happened due to reactors of Russian make which had inherent design flaws that spelt the deadliest nuclear disaster in the history of nuclear power. People far away from the area are still exposed to serious cancer compared to other areas and around nine lakh people died due to cancer. The area won’t be safe for human habitation for at least another 20,000 years. And the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster caused severe health hazards in technologically developed Japan which prompted them to shut nuke plants. In an age where technically advanced nations like Japan are shutting down their nuclear reactors because of inherent hazards, Bangladesh’s decision to start up one such plant is something that must be examined and evaluated very closely in terms of both financial and social costs.
The plant may generate 2400MW electricity at the cost of USD 24b though too costly in terms of nuclear energy generation but cheaper than coal-fired and gas-based energy but in exchange of serious threat to our existence. Discharge of thermal waves and radioactive water will also pose deadly threat as experts deeply distrust Russian reactors in terms of technical viability as well as our management efficiency record. Like the other government projects, if the project runs under disarray and unprofessionally, human catastrophe is imminent.
We think, there are reasons to rethink or reassess the case again before proceeding to the next phase considering potential dangers for us and the next generation.
