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Friday April 26, 2024

Safe reactors

The construction of a 1000MW production capacity nuclear power plant has started near Hawks Bay in Karachi with Chinese assistance. The reactor will cost $4 billion and take seven years to complete. Setting up nuclear plants will help Pakistan overcome its acute energy crisis.However, great care is required in designing

By our correspondents
March 27, 2015
The construction of a 1000MW production capacity nuclear power plant has started near Hawks Bay in Karachi with Chinese assistance. The reactor will cost $4 billion and take seven years to complete. Setting up nuclear plants will help Pakistan overcome its acute energy crisis.
However, great care is required in designing and constructing nuclear reactors to cover every contingency. The nuclear reactors need to be set up away from populated areas and areas that are geologically stable. The effects of exposure to radiation show up in the form of various incurable diseases and can affect generations. Therefore, an evacuation plan is necessary in case of an incident. It is hoped that the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency have considered these factors.
Sidra Talha
Karachi