CAIRO - A renowned geology professor urged the Government to build the planned nuclear reactor in el-Salloum or Sinai rather than the already approved site of el-Dabaa, near the Mediterranean coast. "If the nuclear reactor were put up in el-Dabaa, which is exposed to strong winds all the year, it would pose a serious danger to the coastal city of Alexandria and the whole North Coast area," Professor Khaled Abdul Kader, the Head of Assuit University's Geology Department, has said. He added the active winds in el-Dabaa would help blow away nuclear emissions coming out from the reactor's location to Alexandria and el-Delta cities and villages “within a matter of a few minutes.” He said that the emissions usually fell on an area of 200 square kilometres around any nuclear facility. "Therefore, it is highly recommended that the nuclear plant should be relocated to another site like el-Salloum, or built near Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip for safety reasons," he said, arguing that the two proposed locations are known for slow wind activity during the year. "Even, if the winds blew, they would carry the nuclear emissions to vast desert areas, which have no residential areas," Professor Abdul Kader said.
