Citizens' safety key factor in Singapore nuclear power study

'Deliberate and extensive' 2-year process looked at range of technologies and risks
Grace Chua Straits Times 31 Oct 12;

A STUDY which ruled out Singapore's use of nuclear power for now took two years to complete because those involved had to understand the full range of technologies and evaluate the risks.

The main factor in deciding to forgo the nuclear option for now concerns the safety of Singaporeans, said one expert in the national nuclear pre-feasibility study, which started in 2010.

Another said newer, safer power- plant designs may one day be applicable to Singapore if they become proven technologies.

This month, Second Minister for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran said in Parliament that current nuclear-energy technologies were not suitable here and that the risks, given the country's size and dense population, outweigh benefits.

The study recommended that Singapore continue to monitor new technologies and develop capabilities in technology and emergency response.

A Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) spokesman said it was a "deliberate and extensive" two-year process that involved government agencies, external consultants and expert advisers.

Each of the three independent experts has more than 40 years of experience in nuclear energy.

Mr Konstantin Foskolos is former deputy head of nuclear energy and safety research at the Paul Scherrer Institute, a Swiss research institute.

The other two are Dr Gail Marcus, formerly of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, and Dr Dennis Berry, nuclear energy programmes director emeritus of the US' Sandia National Laboratories.

The study addressed aspects such as security and risk assessment, regulatory regimes, management of radioactive waste and emergency planning but did not generate specific figures for costs and risks.

Mr Foskolos said environmental impact did not affect significantly the decisions. "The main factor for the decision of the Government was the need to ensure the safety of the population."

There are no global standards that restrict populations around nuclear- power plants, the MTI noted. Some plants in the United States, Canada and Switzerland have towns within a 5km radius.

The study did not focus only on big costly reactors, said Mr Foskolos. It also included small modular reactors and reactors of various technologies, such as gas- and liquid metal-cooled reactors, which are still under development.

Said Dr Berry: "For nearly every country considering a new nuclear-power plant, today's designs are judged to be quite safe.

"But these designs have not been demonstrated and have not received regulatory scrutiny. Some of these 'futuristic' designs may some day be found acceptable to Singapore."

Dr Marcus noted that the performance claims of many new designs cannot be verified yet and not all are likely to be commercialised successfully.

"So it would be premature for Singapore to make decisions on such technologies at this time," she added.

The MTI spokesman also said that in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi accident in March 2011, "we also took the opportunity to include preliminary lessons learnt from the accident".

Currently, about 80 per cent of electricity here is generated from natural gas, with the rest linked to fuel oil and other sources such as waste.

Regional countries poised for nuclear energy
Straits Times 31 Oct 12;

EVEN as some countries have scaled back nuclear-energy plans in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan, others, especially in South-east Asia, are forging ahead.

Singapore's immediate neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia are keen to develop the sector.

Malaysia is studying the possibility of operating two 1-gigawatt nuclear reactors, with the first expected to be operational by 2021. A feasibility study, including the selection of potential sites and development of infrastructure plans, is now underway.

Indonesia has been building capabilities in nuclear energy since the 1960s. Its nuclear agency has its eye on two sites in Java - Muria and Banten - and one in Bangka off Sumatra.

Farther afield, Vietnam may get South-east Asia's first nuclear power plant. It has awarded contracts for plants to be built by the 2020s and intends to build 10 nuclear reactors by 2030.

Singapore's nuclear pre-feasibility study recommended that it play an active role on issues of nuclear safety.

In 2010, Asean set up a nuclear-energy cooperation network.

Singapore is also part of the Asian Nuclear Safety Network and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, an inter-governmental group for cooperation on nuclear safety and security.

GRACE CHUA

An underground plant may be safer from attacks
Straits Times 31 Oct 12;

SITING a nuclear power plant underground may be the best option should Singapore decide to build one, said a National University of Singapore civil engineering professor who has done research on the topic.

Professor Andrew Clennel Palmer said an underground facility could be safer from terrorist and aircraft attacks than one on the surface, and that Singapore has experience building infrastructure below-ground - such as the MRT system and caverns for storing oil and munitions.

In a talk at the Asia Future Energy Forum last week, part of Singapore International Energy Week, he outlined the pros and cons of generating electricity from nuclear energy here.

Singapore, said the petroleum-engineering expert and Keppel Professor of civil engineering at NUS, is currently almost wholly dependent on fossil fuels. But nuclear energy produces no carbon-dioxide emissions and does not contribute to climate change. "Singapore is a strong and disciplined country, it could keep a nuclear power plant safe," he said.

But the country could also rely on natural gas, especially from unconventional sources, for a long time yet.

He has assessed 19 sites islandwide from Tuas to Pulau Tekong for suitability to house a nuclear power plant, based on factors from population density and proximity to neighbouring countries to risks of terrorism and tsunamis.

Together with colleagues, he is working on a book about the metropolitan siting of nuclear reactors, supported by a Ministry of Education research grant. It will be published next year.

GRACE CHUA