Thursday, May 5, 2011

Nuclear energy and the future of Cape Town






The nuclear disaster in Japan has resulted in global concerns about the safety of nuclear power. The Japanese nuclear system was considered “safe” and had been designed to withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes. Most unfortunately, the unexpected has happened again, and the result is an incredibly serious nuclear accident.
I am surprised to see that the South African Government has decided to go ahead with the 9600 megawatt expansion of nuclear power after witnessing the catastrophic tragedy at the Fukushima 1 reactor complex. In the following essay, I aim to examine the history of nuclear power both globally as well as nationally; research alternative sources of energy; and highlight the words of anti-nuclear campaigns within South Africa.
South Africa’s Apartheid bombs were manufactured by Armscor at Advena – a top secret installation in Pretoria. Since 1991, SA has been a member of the nonproliferation treaty. The decision to construct nuclear weapons, is the reason that Koeberg power station stands today.
How would South Africa cope with a nuclear accident? Should our evacuation plans change? What happens to Koeberg’s nuclear waste?
The world's natural resources are being consumed at an alarming rate. Nuclear power is the World’s current answer to this problem. What are alternative solutions?

Sewage sludge is used to produce electrical energy in parts of India and California. This process is referred to as Bio-Waste energy.
The use of wind is another way to create energy by using it to turn the blades of a windmill or wind turbines.Latest improvements in this technology are asisting in the production of portale mobile phone chargers. 
Hydro-power refers to the water flow that turns the turbines, creating electricity. The problem with this process is that it destroys ecosystems living in and around the water.
Solar power is generated through solar-padded sheets that absorb sunlight and convert this into electricity. Solar power is mainly used independently at private homes.
Fossil fuels such as natural gas, petroleum and coal are used to heat water the then creates steam. The steam then turns the turbines, creating electricity. Carbon dioxide is released into the air, polluting the atmosphere. The majority of the world's electricity is currently produced via fossil fuels. This is a process that shall soon no longer be able to be done as the world is running out of fossil fuels.

A nuclear reactor does not pollute the air or water like a coal plant. It does, however, produce radioactive waste that is very dangerous.

Disaster strikes Japan

On Friday 11th March 2011, an undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 9- one of the most powerful ever recorded -strikes off Japan's northeastern coast just before 3pm local time. Shortly after authorities warn the affected areas of a tsunami, a ten-meter high wave smashes over the northeastern Japanese coast, producing massive damage and flooding. At the weekend, four nuclear power stations in quake-hit areas are shut down, leaving millions of people without running water and electricity. 80 422 buildings are damaged and 4 798 of them are completely destroyed. The Japanese government orders the evacuation of residents living close to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, where the disaster has caused cooling systems to fail and trigger fears of a meltdown.
Over the next few weeks, Japanese authorities would begin evacuating people from the area, but thousands were still stranded and cut off from aid. Prime Minister Naoto Kan described the matter as the worst crisis since the end of World War II in Japan when a new fire erupted at the Fukushima plant. Workers were evacuated as radiation levels began to skyrocket. Sadly, another strong 6.0 magnitude aftershock battered the Japanese nation once again and although it was not as destructive, what was still to come is one of the most devastating situations I have ever witnessed.




Japanese officials have mentioned that it will take about nine months to finally fix the nuclear plants affected- if nothing else goes wrong. They are hoping to reduce radiation levels significantly over the next three months. Officials and foreign experts say that the situation at the plant has now passed its most critical stages, but Toshiso Kosako, a special advisor to the Japanese government on radiation safety has a lot more to say. After recently resigning from working at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant., he admits that he was unimpressed and upset about the handling of this ongoing crisis. He regrettably mentioned that the Japanese Government has ‘ignored the laws and is only focusing on a short term solution’. According to him this is only prolonging the crisis. Kosako also mentions that three of its six reactors still pose a potential threat as officials and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. work to bring the situation under control.


Sadly, the long-term consequences from this accident will be borne by Japan’s youth as Fukushima has released up to fifty percent of the radiation that Chernobyl did. The Chernobyl power plant in Russia suffered a complete meltdown on the 26th April 1986. A nuclear meltdown begins when the nuclear reaction in the core of the reactor loses control, damaging the reactor. Many safety features are designed and installed in case this occurs in order to prevent a meltdown, but at Chernobyl power plant the safety features failed. The meltdown completely destroyed the reactor and the concrete safety cap that contains the deadly radiation. It therefore continued to blow out of the plant and showered over surrounding villages and farmland. Those who didn’t die of cancer or from radiation sickness, had children with extreme birth defects, as uranium targets the human reproductive system and deforms DNA. The farmlands were also affected as livestock and crops became contaminated and therefore unusable. Today, the effects of this terrible accident at the Chernobyl power plant are still being felt in Russia.

Twin Brothers suffering from Chernobyl incident


Above images at

Another nuclear accident occurred on the 28th of March 1979, at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in the United States. Luckily, the dangerous radiation that was released during the meltdown of one of its reactors was contained within the plant and never got to contaminate the surrounding area. This is because the power plant had very well designed safety features. It was later determined that this was due to human error and not equipment failure.

Taking a closer look at South Africa and nuclear power

Radioactive uranium is used to fuel nuclear power plants. It is not found in nature in its elemental form, but always found bonded with other substances. Uranium production in South Africa has generally been a by-product of gold or copper mining. Once this uranium compound is mined, it must be sent to several different enrichment plants before it is pure enough to be made into fuel rods. When the uranium fuel rods are spent of their energy and need to be replaced, they cannot simply be thrown away. The used rods are still very radioactive and will remain so for hundreds of years.

The availability of uranium in South Africa is a big advantage for Koeberg Power Station, which is the only nuclear power station in Africa. It is situated at Duynefontein, about 30km northwest of Cape Town on the Atlantic coast. Koeberg uses sea water to cool its condensers and therefore saves around 22 billion litres of fresh water a year. Founded over 20 years ago, the power plant has been a huge concern to all capetonians – especially after the devastating problems that happened in Japan. Koeberg's two reactor containment buildings are made of 1m thick concrete walls that are lined with steel. “They are designed to ensure that no radiation escapes under any conceivable circumstances, from an earthquake to a jumbo jet collision.” (Eskom 2006)


Image at click here


Image at click here
On December 4th 1809 there was a major earthquake that measured an estimated 6.5 on the Richter scale in Cape Town. The Milnerton Fault runs eight kilometers offshore near Koeberg, through Table View and Milnerton, and on to the Cape Flats and part of False Bay. In 2003 measurements reached 3.1 on the Richter scale as these parts shook slightly. The Paddocks Shopping Centre in Milnerton Ridge is the exact site at which the epicenter of the earthquake in 1809 was. The building that was built there at the time, was flattened. Another two earthquakes have been recorded, one in 1620 and another in 1811. Both were not as destructive as the one in 1809. Several earthquakes in Cape Town have been recorded from this fault, including a small one in May 2009.
“Tony Stott, Eskom spokesman on nuclear matters, said the design would mean Koeberg could withstand an earthquake of 7 and is designed as if the epicentre of the earthquake were right under Koeberg, although the Milnerton fault line is 8 to 9km away.”  (AOL 1999)
The government intends on doubling South Africa’s nuclear power ability and, in spite of the earthquake risk, Koeberg has been selected as one of the sites for more nuclear stations. Other sites include Pearly Beach – a small town outside of Hermanus, Thyspunt in the Eastern Cape, located west of Port Elizabeth near Cape St Francis, Duynefontein within the existing Koeberg nuclear power station site in the Western Cape, Brazil in the Northern Cape located in the Kleinsee/Port Nolloth area, and Skulpfontein in the same province, near Hondeklipbaai.
So, what happens in a state of emergency? What do we do if there is a sudden meltdown? The nuclear industry argues that this technology is safe but accidents do happen, and will continue to happen like at Japan and Chernobyl. The fact is, that plants such as the one at Koeberg are run by human beings and human beings make mistakes! Capetonians have no clear idea of what exactly to do if Koeberg does experience a meltdown. We are left with a choice of three serviceable roads to take and get out in a limited amount of time. The N7? That leads to Koeberg. The N1 and the N2? These roads are jam packed on a regular week day during rush hour. Cape Town emergency-evacuation exercises have never been rehearsed with the population, the emergency services and the transport industry.
Radiation emissions from reactors cannot be controlled. Prevailing winds and atmospheric conditions will determine where and how quickly the plume moves. If Koeberg does face a meltdown, the entire country will be in a huge crisis. Mike Cantey, from the Coalition Against Nuclear Energy, has calculated that agriculture in South Africa would be cancelled out for a couple hundred years and the Earth's crust would have to be ploughed down about 20 meters. All the top soil would have to be removed completely and treated as waste. Child thyroid cancer cases would increase from the exposure of iodine, genetic defects and cancers of the blood and lymphatic system.
Not all radiation is alike. The cloud of radioactive particles released from the Japanese reactors and spent-fuel pools contains dozens of fission byproducts with distinct properties and effects on humans. Iodine 129 and 131 exists for eight days and settles on the ground, contaminating grass. Dairy cows then eat the grass and their milk becomes a significant source of human exposure. Once in the body, radioactive iodine is absorbed by the thyroid gland and can therefore lead to thyroid cancer. Strontium 90 exists in our environment for a further 600 years. It is inhaled and ingested through contaminated food and water. Radioactive strontium is similar to calcium – seeking out bones and bone marrow, therefore enhancing a human’s  chance of bone cancer or leukemia. Cesium 137 also remains present for 29 years. Although it is inhaled and ingested through contaminated food and liquid, it has the ability to penetrate through the skin and deep into the body’s tissue. It is the most powerful isotope amongst these three.
But Necsa (The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation) has a list on their website of what we should do:
“Stay calm
. Go indoors (staying indoors provides significant protection). Close all doors and windows
. Switch off air conditioners
. Tune into all local radio stations for instructions. Periodic announcements shall be made concerning the emergency status and actions that must be taken. If it is necessary to evacuate a specific area, an announcement stating the safest route shall be made
. Only use the telephone if it is absolutely necessary since it may be necessary to contact you by telephone
. BE A GOOD neighbour. If you see anyone outdoors please advise him/her to take shelter
. Help the deaf and disabled
. If you are travelling by car at the time of the emergency close all your windows and air vents and leave the affected area. In case Necsa’s Telkom land lines are not working, please dial: 083 639 0366 / 082 806 3611.” (Necsa 2003)
They do not inform us as to the availability of iodine tablets or where there shall be sites for emergency shelters either.
Atlantis residents are a few kilometers from Koeberg and would be one of the first to experiences the brunt of the disaster. Community leaders have expressed that not everything has been done in order to help them. They are constantly asked in communal meetings about what would happen if something goes wrong and they have only been informed to respond with one answer: “There are plans in place”. They have urged for an evacuation drill to be put in place and for regular practices to be made. This is just one of the communities close to Koeberg that have complained about the plant.
Nuclear waste remains the biggest problem of the nuclear industry. Nowhere in the world has a satisfactory answer been found for the disposal of high-level waste. Plutonium is the most radioactive part of the nuclear waste. It has a half-life of 24 000 years. In order to determine how many years that exactly is, one must multiply the half life by ten. This means that this Plutonium will be radioactive for a further 240 000 years once it has been regarded as waste and needs to be protected from the environment. An example of this radioactive waste is the used fuel rods at Koeberg that can no longer produce energy. Currently, most radioactive waste is stored in canisters underground. These canisters are supposed to be made of reinforced concrete and metal shielding. They are carefully designed to keep the dangerous radiation from escaping into the surrounding environment.


Jacque Fresco, Industrial designer and social engineer speaks in Zeitgeist’s The Venus Project about Governments that try to perpetuate that which keeps them in power. People are not elected to political office to change. He describes how systems are not designed to serve the wellbeing of people.
“What’s in it for me? Is why people think, and so if a man makes money selling a certain product, naturally he’s going to fight the existence of another product that may threaten his institution. Therefore people cannot be fair…If people were ethical, it [society] wouldn’t work.” 
In South Africa, Namaqualand in the Northern Cape, has been the unwilling recipient of Koeberg’s low and intermediate nuclear waste. Vaalputs, topped the list because of low rainfall, deep ground water and geological stability- factors that would contain contamination in the event of radioactive leakage. Vaalputs is the national radioactive waste disposal facility that is managed by Necsa on behalf of the South African Government.
At the site, the drums from Koeberg are stored in trenches about 10m deep. There was no public consultation when the site was chosen. The people who reside in Vaalputs and it’s surrounding communities were not informed about the negative aspects regarding nuclear waste. According to Andy Pienaar from the Namaqualand Action Group for Environmental Justice, “Eskom has used the site to dump level one (clothing and gloves) and Two (sludges, filters) waste here, but now they want to dump high level waste in the community”.


An extremely interesting Blog post about Koeberg by Space Adriana

Atomic Energy Board resides at Pelindaba, the National Nuclear Research Center. "Pelindaba" is derived from the words pelile meaning "finished." and 'indaba' meaning "discussion". They store their waste on site. Despite generating a large amount of nuclear waste, South Africa has no adequate policy regarding the correct management of nuclear waste. This has left the industry to its own devices. All nuclear facilities generate nuclear waste, which needs careful management but this hasn’t always been the case. Contaminated milk was found just outside of Pelindaba as the cattle were grazing in fields that were supposed to be fenced off, as well as properly covered with concrete where radioactive waste had been deposited. The milk was then taken to Pretoria and was on the shelves of supermarkets two weeks before Dominique Gilbert, from the Pelindaba Working Group, discovered the leakage.

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Employees of Pelindaba are seeking compensation, as they believe that their illnesses are a result of working at the center. Cases of thyroid cancer, leukemia, lung cancer and prostate cancer have been recorded amongst these men.

RADIATION CONCERNS AT KOEBERG

Koeberg is hotbed of disease - activists


Environmental justice is "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” (Tyler 2003: 5)
It refers to a new collection of 'discursive formations' that begun in the USA during the 1980s.
During the 1950s uranium begun affecting thousands of people working at and residing nearby uranium mines. The 'radioactive colonisation' (Churchill and LaDuke 1985) became a strong-willed group mainly including people from New Mexico and Arizona.


   
It seems that the only way that these structures can be forced to imploy stricter safety measures is for the media and organizations such as EarthLife Africa to intervene and publicize mismanagement. EarthLife Africa is a campaign run by a group of South African Activists who express their concern about nuclear though marches. They raise awareness about the use of nuclear power and enforce their strong belief in using alternative sources of energy that are environmentally and financially feasible. Their latest march included people from all over the western and eastern Cape that are either affected by, or are going to be affected by future nuclear power plants.




No Nukes is an antinuclear campaign in Jeffery’s Bay. Eskom plans to close the famous surfspot, SuperTubes, near Cape St. Francis in order to make way for another power station. The No Nukes group meets regularly, wearing black and yellow. They form the No Nuke sign on beaches or in the sea on their surf boards, as well as arrange marches against this power station’s development. An SMS system has been setup for people to donate toward legal fees against the construction of Thyspunt Nuclear Power Station. Each SMS costs R10 and will cover the costs of legal matters. It is said that the plant will affect the entire ecosystem along the coastline, killing dolphins and other marine life in the surrounding waters.

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It is obvious that securing power stations is critically important yet there have been breeches in the past that prove that if the intention is there, almost any secure environment can be violated. Green Peace have managed to enter the Koeberg site and vandalize it’s property once before. 

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Apart from radioactive exposure, the most damning thing about the nuclear power is the secrecy involved in it. The result of this secrecy is that a regular citizen is not empowered to make informed decisions.
The issue of using nuclear power to produce electricity involves its high cost, its waste, and the public's concern of its safe usage.
Even though the question of handling nuclear waste hasn’t been resolved, the nuclear industry continues to expand in the hope that a solution will be found.
If South African Government is realistic about the risks and the dangers of this industry, it should be going down a completely different route if it wants to secure the future of our nation as well as our democracy.


"The principle of all successful effort is to try to do not what is absolutely the best, but what is easily within our power, and suited for our temperament and condition." - John Ruskin 1819-1900, British Critic, Social Theorist











REFERENCES



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