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Friday March 29, 2024

PAEC finally hears public’s reservations about N-projects

KarachiThe officials of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), including its chairman, finally listened to the complaints of citizens and civil society representatives about the construction of two nuclear power plants along the city’s coast and responded to their objections and grievances at a public hearing held on Monday.The people were

By M Waqar Bhatti
April 28, 2015
Karachi
The officials of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), including its chairman, finally listened to the complaints of citizens and civil society representatives about the construction of two nuclear power plants along the city’s coast and responded to their objections and grievances at a public hearing held on Monday.
The people were given 10 more days to file any further concerns or objections after which the matter would be handed over to a committee of experts for reviewing the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report submitted by proponent of the project.
The hearing was held at the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (Kanupp) about the construction of K2 and K3 projects next to the already-functioning nuclear facility near Paradise Point.
The PAEC is constructing two PWR-type nuclear power plants of Generation-3 security features, with the capacity of generating 1,100 megawatts with the help of the Chinese government at an estimated cost of Rs1 trillion.
The public hearing had been finally held in light of the orders of Sindh High Court which had ordered the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to do its job and conduct another Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by inviting the public to raise their concerns.
The hearing was attended by a large number of people from locality, besides environmentalists, social activists, academicians and media personnel. They were given detailed presentations on the safety and precautionary measures to be adopted in the construction of both nuclear power plants as they raised their concerns and sought replies from the experts of PAEC and SEPA.
Most of the people residing in surrounding areas and their representatives said they had no objection to the construction of another couple of nuclear power plants provided they posed no harm to their lifestyles, health or the environmental health of the area.
They believed that Kanupp, functioning for the past 42 years, had neither caused any deaths due to nuclear activity nor had it affected the local environment, fish catch and the quality of air.
However, they did demand from the PAEC to work for the uplift of undeveloped area as part of its corporate social responsibility.
However, members of the civil society and representatives of Shehri-CBE in particular, opposed the project vehemently, arguing that instead of adopting “dangerous” means of producing power and risking lives of thousands of people, the PAEC should either relocate the project to Balochistan coast or abandon it altogether.
Roland DeSouza, the founder of Shehri, argued that both the nuclear power plants with a combined capacity of generating 2,200 megawatts were being constructed in a city with a population of 22 million and the country’s largest port.
“In case of any disaster, like Fukushima in Japan, thousands of Karachiites will be at the direct risk of getting affected due to radiation leaks and it could also close down the port, affecting all of Pakistan,” he said. “If constructing these nuclear power plants is inevitable, they should be moved into deep sea near the Balochistan coast, away from human settlements.”
The newly-appointed chairman of PAEC, Muhammad Naeem, while responding to the concerns and objections raised by participants, claimed that after years of thorough studies, analysis, calculations and experts’ input, the site for K2 and K3 had been selected near Kanupp. He assured the sceptics that all possible security and safety measures will be taken to the proposed power plants safe for humans and ecology.
He said the PAEC will continuously monitor the impacts of radiation in soil, air and the and the sea to ensure that people and environment of the area was not affected by the nuclear power plants.
According to him, the coastal areas of Balochistan were not feasible for setting up nuclear power plants.
Also present on the occasion was former PAEC chairman, Dr Ansar Pervez, who apprised the gathering that the commission had decided to go ahead with the K2 and K3 projects to help mitigate the prevailing power crisis and its adverse impacts on the economy of the country.
“We are paying around 20 percent more money, more than the cost of these nuclear power plants to ensure that in case of any natural disaster, including earthquake, tsunami or sabotage, radiation does not leak and cause any damage to the people or environment of the,” he claimed.
“The type of nuclear power plants chosen to be built on the city’s coast were the most secured and advanced in the world. Such types of plants were being built in many developed countries, including the United States and Europe, due to their security and safety mechanisms.”
He said the K2 and K3 power plants will have double containment to prevent leakage of radiation to the atmosphere in case of any sabotage or a natural disaster. “They will also be withstand an earthquake of magnitude 9 on the Richter Scale and will be built some 12 metres above the sea level to prevent it from being damaged by tsunami waves two to three metres high,” he said.
In his closing remarks, the SEPA director general Naeem Mughal the agency was largely satisfied with assurances from the proponents of nuclear power plants. However, it suggested to the PAEC to incorporate additional security features and mechanisms, if possible, to ensure that people living in the vicinity remain safe and environment was not affected.
He said additional measures should be adopted to minimise the impact of warm water being released in the sea and curb the heat pollution harming marine life. He said the fuel should also be properly disposed so the people remain protected from harmful effects of radiation.