Will the growth of nuclear power cost more money and grief than it's worth?
IAEA Says Aging Reactors, Weak Regulation May Be `Ticking Bomb'
Old nuclear reactors and weak government regulation could be a "ticking bomb" in some countries, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said .
"We see a troubling combination of old reactors and weak regulators," the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog told a conference in Paris, without naming any countries.
ElBaradei's warning comes amid renewed interest in atomic energy among governments and utilities around the world as power demand increases and fossil-fuel consumption threatens to boost the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Some 50 countries are considering introducing nuclear generation and a dozen are "actively preparing" new programs, ElBaradei said.
Nuclear plants may produce more than a fifth of global electricity by 2050, according to a report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. To reach this level, some 54 reactors would have to be built each year between 2030 and 2050, the OECD said. There are 439 such generators operating worldwide.
"A single nuclear accident anywhere in the world could severely undermine the prospects for nuclear energy everywhere," ElBaradei said. "Failures of either safety or security can have consequences stretching well beyond national borders, as the Chernobyl accident demonstrated."
A reactor at Ukraine's Chernobyl complex exploded in April 1986, spewing radiation across the country, as well as Belarus, Russia and northern Europe.
Weapons Risk
Turkey, Egypt, Vietnam and Nigeria are among countries preparing new nuclear-power ventures, ElBaradei said. The spread of atomic material to new areas increases the risk that it could be "diverted to make nuclear weapons," he said.
Countries that can enrich uranium and separate plutonium for nuclear fuel are "de facto nuclear weapons-capable states," which could build such arms if they left the Non-Proliferation Treaty, he said. "This is too narrow a margin of security."
ElBaradei reiterated his call for multinational control over the nuclear fuel cycle to prevent the spread of atomic weapons.
"We see a troubling combination of old reactors and weak regulators," the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog told a conference in Paris, without naming any countries.
ElBaradei's warning comes amid renewed interest in atomic energy among governments and utilities around the world as power demand increases and fossil-fuel consumption threatens to boost the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Some 50 countries are considering introducing nuclear generation and a dozen are "actively preparing" new programs, ElBaradei said.
Nuclear plants may produce more than a fifth of global electricity by 2050, according to a report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. To reach this level, some 54 reactors would have to be built each year between 2030 and 2050, the OECD said. There are 439 such generators operating worldwide.
"A single nuclear accident anywhere in the world could severely undermine the prospects for nuclear energy everywhere," ElBaradei said. "Failures of either safety or security can have consequences stretching well beyond national borders, as the Chernobyl accident demonstrated."
A reactor at Ukraine's Chernobyl complex exploded in April 1986, spewing radiation across the country, as well as Belarus, Russia and northern Europe.
Weapons Risk
Turkey, Egypt, Vietnam and Nigeria are among countries preparing new nuclear-power ventures, ElBaradei said. The spread of atomic material to new areas increases the risk that it could be "diverted to make nuclear weapons," he said.
Countries that can enrich uranium and separate plutonium for nuclear fuel are "de facto nuclear weapons-capable states," which could build such arms if they left the Non-Proliferation Treaty, he said. "This is too narrow a margin of security."
ElBaradei reiterated his call for multinational control over the nuclear fuel cycle to prevent the spread of atomic weapons.
Will the spread of nuclear power result in a rise in nuclear weapon fuel proliferation as well?
posted by Charltonmedia.com @ 8:37 PM
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