Plutonium-239, the most dangerous by product in reactors, if not disposed of safely can be a threat to lives for generations
PETALING JAYA: A former nuclear engineer said that the Malaysian government was ‘toying’ with a force it cannot possibly contain with its nuclear power plant ambitions.Ahmad Bungsu Hamid Tuah, 63, said nuclear energy may boost the nation’s power demands, but asked how the government planned to dispose plutonium-239, the most toxic by product of nuclear reactors.
“To generate electricty, uranium-235 rods are pumped into uranium-238 cylinders to create fission (nuclear chain reaction),” said Ahmad, who had stint at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.
“Several by-products are created and one them is plutonium-239, the most toxic material in the world,” said Ahmad who is also PKR’s public complaints bureau committee member.
“Plutonium-239 is also one of key elements used to produce nuclear weapons.
“In the US, the plutonium and other toxic waste material from nuclear plants are buried deep underground in the deserts of Nevada. Where and how does Malaysia propose to dispose of these toxic materials, especially plutonium-239?” asked Ahmad.
According to Ahmad, it takes 500,000 years for plutonium-239 to be rendered non-toxic and there are currently no experts in the world who know how to dispose of the material safely.
“If you take one gram of plutonium, divide it into one million pieces, the one millionth of a gram of plutonium is enough to cause cancer in an individual.
“And even if persons contaminated by the plutonium die, the radioactive material will remain intact for thousands of years,” he said.
‘Russia and Japan fumbling’
Ahmad cited an example of the nuclear power plant meltdown in 1986 in Chernobyl, Russia where the flora and fauna in the surrounding areas are still toxic and deadly to human lives.
“Atomic bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and descendants of those exposed to radiation are still giving birth to children with physical deformities.
“Look at how Japan is helplessly trying to control its current nuclear crisis in Fukushima island. They are running out of ideas and I believe a meltdown is imminent,” said Ahmad.
The 9-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan last week caused several of its nuclear reactors on the island to explode amidst fears of a global nuclear crisis.
When great powers such as Japan and Russia are not able to contain a nuclear crisis, how will a developing nation like Malaysia be able to handle a nuclear crisis? asked Ahmad
He said that while Malaysia was not in the earthquake zone, tremors from earthquakes in Indonesia have been felt here and will be a threat should Malaysia go ahead with its nuclear plans.
“And if our neighbour suffers another volcanic eruption like in 1883, our nuclear plants will be damaged,” he said referring to the Krakatoa eruption which killed almost 40,000 people.
Harvesting renewable energy
Ahmad urged the government to focus on developing renewable energy as opposed to nuclear energy because Malaysia has an abundance of natural resources.“We only use 25% of our hydro-electric capacity. Our biomass potential is virtually untapped and we also have a huge reserves of natural gas to spearheard projects on renewable energy,” said Ahmad.
He added that though Malaysia was embarking on harvesting solar energy, the government is not focused on the developing the technology.
“We have also neglected sea wave harvesting. There is a lot of potential especially in the east coast area during monsoon when the waves are strong,” he said.
Ahmad said the government was not serious in pursuing renewable energy as the government and the power producers stand to lose a lot of money from these ventures.
“And if every home intalled a device that extracts solar energy to power up their electrical appliances at a fraction of the cost, the power industry can’t make you pay for it.
“And of course, when energy becomes so accessible to the masses, it will be impossible for the government to impose tax on it as well,” said Ahmad.
Last year, the Malaysian government annouced that it would build two nuclear power plants to diversify the nation’s power sources by 2021. RM21.3 billion had been allocted for the project.
