nuclear-news

SINGAPORE: Second Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said a pre-feasibility study has concluded that current nuclear energy technology is not suitable for use in Singapore, even though the latest designs of nuclear power plants are much safer than older designs which remain in use in many countries.

The study involved government agencies, external consultants and independent expert advisers.

Mr Iswaran was speaking in Parliament on Monday in response to a question filed by MP for Nee Soon GRC Lee Bee Wah.

Eighty per cent of Singapore’s energy is generated from natural gas imported from neighbouring countries Indonesia and Malaysia.

In 2010, the government embarked on a pre-feasibility study to explore more energy options, looking to overcome Singapore’s energy constraints and improve energy security.

The study concluded that nuclear energy will not be an option, for now.

Mr Iswaran said: “The risks to Singapore, given that we are small and dense, still outweigh the benefits at this point. As we are planning for the very long term and not for our immediate energy needs, we prefer to wait for technology and safety to improve further before reconsidering our options. Over time, nuclear power plants with safer and more robust designs will be developed.” 

Experts added these risks may be unexpected like the Fukushima nuclear plant incident in Japan last year.

National University of Singapore’s executive director for Energy Studies Institute, Professor S. K. Chou, said: “You might say the Fukushima incident might never happen to us…But if you look at planning for a disaster or an event, we cannot exclude possibilities. We need to be ready to respond and I think our people will need to be ready to address some of these issues of disaster relief, supplies and logistic issues, ensuring that we can contain the disaster within a certain closed area. If something happens in Jurong, you can’t run away to Katong to hide because we are such a small island and because of that we need to be extra vigilant.” 

Konstantin Foskolos, project adviser from Switzerland, said: “Singapore should wait for a reactor technology that cannot have a severe accident like in Fukushima – where the probability of such an accident is practically zero. Fukushima reactors belong to a technology which is 30,40 years old. They cannot compare with today’s reactors. This zero probability for an accident can be achieved by different kinds of technology, which are currently under scrutiny and under development.”

Mr Iswaran added that nuclear energy will continue to be part of the energy mix for many countries.

Two-thirds of nuclear power plants being built are located in Asia, with some planned in Southeast Asia.

Mr Iswaran said: “Singapore needs to continue to monitor the progress of nuclear energy technologies, and to strengthen our capabilities to understand nuclear science and technology. It is also important to track related developments in areas such as emergency response and radioactive waste disposal. Then we can assess the implications of evolving nuclear energy technologies and regional nuclear energy developments for Singapore. This will also strengthen our operational preparedness and our existing capabilities in radiation and incident response.”

To do this, the government will support research in areas of nuclear science and engineering and train a pool of scientists and experts through educationprogrammes in local and overseas universities.

Mr Iswaran also said Singapore will also play an active role in global and regional cooperation on nuclear safety.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1231418/1/.html