African FAITH COMMUNITIES ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE Liziwe McDaid - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Southern African FAITH COMMUNITIES ENVIRONMENT INSTITUTE Liziwe McDaid Green Connection - www.thegreenconnection.org.za

What legacy are we leaving the grandchildren of South Africa?

Accidents and incidents – Nuclear power stations More than 100 workers were 1981 Tsuraga 2 Japan exposed to doses of up to 155 millirem per day radiation Spread of contamination to an 1993 Cadarache 2 France area not expected by design Reactor shutdown after the 2011 Sendai earthquake 2011 Fukushima 5 Japan and tsunami; failure of emergency cooling caused an explosion

Civilian exposures • 24 May 1958 — INES Level needed - Chalk River, Ontario, Canada - Fuel damaged • Due to inadequate cooling a damaged uranium fuel rod caught fire and was torn in two as it was being removed from the core at the NRUreactor. The fire was extinguished, but not before radioactive combustion products contaminated the interior of the reactor building and, to a lesser degree, an area surrounding the laboratory site. Approximately 679 people were employed in the clean-up. [4][5] A corporal named Bjarnie Hannibal Paulson who was at the cleanup did not die from his exposure, but developed unusual skin cancers. Paulson had to testify at many hearings before he was awarded compensation for his radiation injuries . [6]

Civilian exposures • July 16, 1979 – Church Rock, New Mexico – release of radioactive mine tailings • An earth/clay dike of a United Nuclear Corporation's uranium mill's settling/evaporating pond failed . The broken dam released 100 million U.S. gallons (380,000 m3) of radioactive liquids and 1,100 short tons (1,000 metric tonnes) of solid wastes, which settled out up to 70 miles (100 km) down the Puerco River[6] and also near a Navajo farming community that uses surface waters. The pond was past its planned and licensed life and had been filled two feet (60 cm) deeper than design, despite evident cracking. • See also: Church Rock uranium mill spill • September 29, 1979 – Tritium leak at American Atomics in Tucson, Arizona at the public school across the street from the plant. $300,000 worth of food was found to be contaminated; the chocolate cake had 56 nCi/L (2,100 Bq/l). By contrast, the EPA safety limit for drinking water is 20 nCi/L (740 Bq/L) based on consumption of two liters per day.[7][8][9][10]

Civilian exposures.. • May 1998 – Recycler Acerinox in Cádiz, Spain, unwittingly melted scrap metal containing radioactive sources; the radioactive cloud drifted all the way to Switzerland before being detected.[22][36] (See Acerinox accident.) • 1999 – A road near Mrima Hill, Kenya was rebuilt using local materials later found to be radioactive. Some workers were exposed to excessive radiation, and many residents of the area were tested for exposure. 2,975 metric tons of roadway material were to be dug up to eliminate the hazard. [38]

Civilian exposures • May 2013 - A batch of metal-studded belts sold by online retailer ASOS.com were confiscated and held in a U.S. radioactive storage facility after testing positive for 60 Co. [77] • April 2010 - INES level 4 - A 35-year-old man was hospitalized in New Delhi after handling radioactive scrap metal. Investigation led to the discovery of an amount of scrap metal containing 60 Co in the New Delhi industrial district of Mayapuri. The 35-year-old man later died from his injuries, while six others remained hospitalized. [71][72] • December 2001 – Three woodcutters in the nation of Georgia found two warm canisters near their camp and spent the night beside them…… The woodcutters started showing symptoms of radiation sickness within hours, and were subsequently hospitalized with severe radiation burns. [45] The disposal team consisted of 25 men who were restricted to 40 seconds' worth of exposure each while transferring the canisters to lead-lined drums. [46]

On the ground • Japanese suicide ‘Most of my colleagues have died already. Many are sick. I know one of my colleagues died with • Tanzania contamination one lung. Another one was diagnosed with silicoses and died from brain cancer within six months after leaving Rössing. Another one died a month ago, he had cancer. The other one died of • Zambian contamination heart attack. Many former workers living in Arandis, Swakopmund and Walvisbay are sick. Money for rehabilitation dependent on Why is this happening’? new mine going ahead! Pelindaba workers – 2004 - no resolution – people die before case is solved (15 out of 208) Navajo Nation to get more than US$ 1 billion in settlement to clean up abandoned uranium mines, radioactive waste – 2014 (35 yrs)

Is everything under control in South Africa ? • Need south Africa scrap metal • Stefan incident pic

… for ensuring that individuals, society Role of nuclear regulator and environment are adequately protected against radiological hazards • What are they supposed to do? associated with the use nuclear technology (NNR act) • Safety exercise at Koeberg.. sheltering. The International Atomic Energy Agency had found SA deficient in more than 40% of its assessment • T criteria & a series of reports from the World Association of Nuclear Operators had found the capacity of management staff at Koeberg to be sub- optimal.. Bus Day 20 May 2015

Into the future UK power plant – Hinkley - • cost of plant £16 bn - add finance increases 50% to £24 bn • South Africa - Regulator obliged to consider financial sustainability of Eskom.. Tariff increases to allow Eskom to recover R7.8bn from people in 2015 • R1 trillion – what price increases? • If unaffordable .. Then fiscus must pay - R23 bn for Eskom 2015 “you can’t eat electricity ” Roshanda Pascoe MYPD

What if I were minister of Finance? • Eskom maintenance • 1.6 million households electrified off grid, 20 000 hhs • Revenue recovery to Eskom with Tesla storage • 660 water and sanitation • Finance charges on R1 trillion projects • (R500 bn) • 1500 schools constructed • Total bill: R530 bn • Total bill: R285 bn

Russian framework agreement.. • “Indemnify the Russians from any liability arising from nuclear accidents during the reactors’ life. The agreement says South Africa is “solely responsible for any damage both within and outside the territory of the Republic of South Africa” (M&G 2015);

But what about the burden of human suffering – who will pay? • Pelindaba workers legs "wake up to the foolishness of restarting nuclear power plants, with radiation victims among nuclear power plant workers and residents in their vicinities."

Why we don’t need nuclear

IRP 2010 • Initially it was intended to include a no-nuclear scenario by forcing out the new nuclear fleet. • However following the modifications of inputs as discussed above (specifically the learning rates for new technologies and higher nuclear capital costs) the cost-optimal output from the model for the Adjusted Emission scenario does not include any new nuclear capacity • ….. • To account for the uncertainties associated with the costs of renewables and fuels, a nuclear fleet of 9,6 GW is included in the IRP;

Thank you The benefits of nuclear power are too few, and the consequences of serious mishap too great, to make it a reliable component of the energy supply the world needs in the decades to come. National Catholic Reporter, March 2011 LIZ MCDAID Emails: liziwe@mweb.co.za Skype: liziwesa Making sustainable development a reality