Between high hopes for an age when clean, convenient, carbon-free energy is available from nuclear energy and high fears that more nuclear plants could mean another Chernobyl or Fukushima disaster, the development of nuclear power continues. Last week, the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM welcomed more than 3,600 participants from over 70 countries, including representatives of companies working in the nuclear industry, government agencies, international organisations, leading experts, environmentalists and journalists to the city of Sochi for the AtomExpo 2019 International Forum to discuss nuclear technology. While agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed by this, the largest electricity generating company in Russia and the third-largest in the world in terms of nuclear power generation, the event also saw discussion of the disadvantages of nuclear power. Like all sources of energy, nuclear has its pros and cons. However, in this case the cons are more dramatic, having to do with possible mass destruction, human suffering, and environmental catastrophe. Experts who defend nuclear energy say that even the worst accidents at a nuclear plant are less destructive than some major industrial accidents. They also contend that thanks to technological breakthroughs nuclear waste is no longer an insoluble problem, even if political frictions remain. Heading the agenda at the two-day forum were issues of risk management and responsible approaches to the environment and natural resources, as well as the economic costs and benefits of nuclear power. Discussion also focused on global partnerships, nuclear infrastructure as a key component for the sustainability of nuclear projects, the right mix of nuclear and renewables, trends in nuclear medicine, and last but not least generating a safer future together. “Nuclear for a better life” was the key message reiterated throughout the forum. For better or for worse, challenges and risks as well as opportunities and advantages inform Egypt's choices regarding nuclear power. With the projected Dabaa nuclear power station officially granted a permit a few days ago by the Egyptian Nuclear Authority, we need to study and take the right steps to carry out Egypt's vision of nuclear power. In 2017, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement to build the plant. ROSATOM is building it, and it includes four units, each with a capacity of 1,200 MW. The Dabaa plant is the only such project thus far implemented in the Arab world. Nuclear power plants can never be politics free, and they do not only happen as a result of “brotherly” relations between countries or as by-products of friendships between leaders. They are built because common interests require them. The forum thus witnessed the signing of agreements with several Egyptian agencies having to do with nuclear energy, a three-year roadmap between Russia and Ethiopia for the construction of a nuclear power plant and a centre for nuclear science and technology, talks with Turkey to sell shares in the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, currently being constructed, talks with Saudi Arabia to help build power plants, and similar talks with Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Putting aside brotherly feelings, there is a need to think about Egypt's sustainable energy needs, or as energy consultant Salah Hafez puts it, “the guarantee of a regular and timely supply of fuel and energy, in the required amounts, through well-maintained, high-quality infrastructure and at an affordable cost.” There must be the “right and adequate fuel mix to match economic and political convenience and to guarantee the protection of the environment,” he said.
PRO-NUCLEAR: Pro-nuclear environmentalist and founder of the California-based global citizen movement Environment Progress Michail Shellenberger said he had come round to nuclear power. “Despite being the world's worst nuclear accident, the Chernobyl disaster will [ultimately] kill at most 200 people. The 1975 collapse of a hydroelectric dam in China caused at least 170,000 deaths and possibly as many as 230,000.” Thinking in the same way but from a different background was Secretary-General of the European Nuclear Society Fernando Naredo, who does not refute the fact that developed countries are getting rid of their nuclear power plants while developing countries are starting to build them. “Some developed countries are slowing down their nuclear plants, but others are still working and even being constructed in France, Hungary, the US and other countries. Slowing down the plants might be a result of giving in to public pressure or for political reasons,” he said. Naredo contended that countries that say they are closing down their nuclear power plants in order to save the environment may be causing the environment greater harm by using fossil and non-renewable energy instead. “We should be looking at sustainable ways to fulfil development goals,” Naredo said. Director-General of ROSATOM Alexey Likhachev believes that such Forums should be used to help achieve the world's development goals, and he added that each area of human activity is affected by the achievements of the nuclear industry. “The peaceful atom is associated with all the UN Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]. This forum will become a platform for discussing the newest technologies that will lay the basis for the future of our planet. A nuclear generator can work for years with less dependence on raw materials and fuel,” he said. Naredo summarises his advice for Egypt and other countries in the region planning for or taking the initial steps towards building nuclear power plants. “This cannot be a one or five or seven or 10-year programme. It is a 15-year programme that needs a lot of planning before it can be operational,” he said. Success in operating nuclear power plants depends upon a lot of factors. Among the most important is the availability of the skilled workforce to operate them efficiently. It was here that head of human resources at ROSATOM Tattyana Terentyeva presented the organisation's “Mission Talent” initiative. “Without being able to access a steady stream of new recruits with exceptional qualities and tap into a pool of highly skilled talent, many companies that rely on human capital are doomed to failure. This is not only because these companies will not possess the right kind of specialist expertise to continue to operate and keep the lights on, but also because they will be unable to innovate and develop future technologies,” she said. “Mission Talent” targets this skills gap, aiming to work with other enterprises and government bodies to close it by careful solutions, especially since industry has a social responsibility to constantly improve living and working conditions. Terentyeva believes that ROSATOM's training of Egyptian personnel at the Dabaa plant will be of enormous benefit to Egypt. Building a nuclear power plant without the local human skills to manage and operate it is useless, she said. Professor of physics at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute Mikhail Strikhanov said that ROSATOM had signed cooperation agreements on training with both Cairo and Alexandria Universities. However, there is still much to do. Training, bridging the gap between existing and needed skills, balancing diversified sources of energy, and understanding the advantages of nuclear energy without ignoring or exaggerating its dangers and disadvantages are all necessary. Nuclear energy generates electricity without producing carbon waste and thus plays little role in polluting the globe or global warming. Nuclear power plants operate at much higher capacity factors compared to renewable energy sources and fossil fuels, and they provide a sustainable and continuous source of energy. However, accidents resulting from human errors or acts of nature are still major concerns. Likewise, decommissioning and the disposal of exhausted fuel also remain problems, especially since only a few organisations control the rehabilitation of sites and the disposal of waste. After two intensive days of nuclear power panels and initiatives, the participants at the forum will have understood that nuclear energy is not only an issue of economics or the environment, but also a major political issue. With all its pros and cons, nuclear power is here to stay. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The writer is a journalist at Al-Hayat newspaper.
