Nuclear waste disposal

THE WASTE disposal contract with Russia published first in a local daily on August 27 is an unwise (and potentially fatal) decision taken by our government for the 2,400MW Nuclear Power Plant at a staggering cost of US $11.385 billion. This writer is not sure, if this also includes the cost of sending our personnel for training in Russia, and the cost of Russian personnel running the plant for sometime. I think if we needed a nuclear power plant, we should have gone for a radiation-safe U-238-fuelled nuclear power plant.

We could have had a nuclear power plant of higher capacity and totally radiation-free conventional thermal power plants for this amount of money. Feed back from our power plant procurement personnel on this important matter would be most welcome. The report also does not specify two very important issues, like, the costs involved in shipping and safe dumping of nuclear waste, including as well as the regularly disposing of all used electrodes of the nuclear power plant that needs to be changed regularly. Naturally the contract time-frame for disposal of nuclear waste and electrodes should be made for the entire life span of the plant. If it is for a limited period we shall be compelled to go to the Russians for disposal of this dangerous nuclear waste and spent electrodes.

Therefore, in all likelihood, the cost of waste disposal will be getting higher and higher; from term to term as long as the nuclear power plant is kept running. This could be around 20 to 25 years at least and all these expenses will have to be paid in foreign exchange. Since just waste disposal involves huge amount of public money, in hard earned foreign exchange, it should be publicly reported, and should not remain as a secret. Considering the overall high interest rate being charged by the Russians, the additional cost in foreign exchange for disposal of nuclear waste and spent electrodes are likely to be quite high including the cost of transporting it all to Russia. What will be the actual cost of power generation per KWh which is definitely going to be far higher than any conventional thermal power plant where the capital cost is lower. Also these plants will normally be operated by local personnel. To sum it up, it will be one of the most expensive power plants that involves among other things the possibility of fatal and dangerous radiation in a poor country like ours.

Engr. S. A. Mansoor

Gulshan, Dhaka-1212