As Asean looks to nuclear energy, public education efforts are needed: UN nuclear watchdog chief

SINGAPORE – With more governments in the region considering the use of nuclear energy, public education efforts will be key to helping people learn more about nuclear technology, said the chief of the UN nuclear watchdog on July 25.

Speaking to the local media during a one-day visit to Singapore, Mr Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said many people still have certain impressions of the energy form due to previous nuclear incidents.

“But the reality is that the Asean governments are approaching IAEA and telling me that they want nuclear energy, and they are asking for capacity building, training, exchanges, courses and seminars,” he said during the hour-long interview at Shangri-La Singapore.

“So in my opinion, it would be good to do more information-sharing, education campaigns, dissemination of information, because it’s true that public perceptions may still be influenced by a certain inertia from past examples, like what happened in Fukushima,” he said.

In 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan suffered a meltdown in the aftermath of a powerful earthquake and tsunami. The incident changed nuclear policy around the world, with countries like Germany choosing to phase out nuclear energy.

That disaster involved conventional nuclear technologies that had been built up to the 1990s. Advanced nuclear technologies such as small modular reactors have heightened safety features and are considered to be safer.

Mr Grossi was in Singapore as part of the S R Nathan Fellowship, a high-level programme for foreign leaders and prominent individuals to visit the country.

During his visit, the 64-year-old Argentine met Singapore leaders, including President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

IAEA also renewed an existing partnership with Singapore that allows both the UN atomic body and Singapore to continue training countries on matters related to nuclear science and technology, and their peaceful use.

Mr Grossi also

delivered a lecture

hosted by the newly launched Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Institute at NUS, and visited the National Environment Agency and the institute’s facilities.

Global interest in nuclear energy has been surging, as countries turn to the energy form to address concerns over energy security and the power sector’s carbon footprint.

Asean countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are exploring the use of nuclear energy. Japan is also building its first new nuclear reactor since the Fukushima meltdown.

The processes used in generating energy via nuclear reactions do not release planet-warming carbon dioxide, unlike the burning of fossil fuels.

Some detractors of nuclear energy say countries can get carbon-free electricity from renewable energy and need not rely on nuclear energy.

Mr Grossi said this was a “false dichotomy”, adding: “There’s no such thing as renewables versus nuclear.”

Renewable energy is important, and Mr Grossi said he celebrates the declining costs of renewables and higher rates of adoption. But there are limitations to harnessing renewable energy.

Some countries may have constrained access to renewables, due to their geography. Even for nations blessed with ample wind or solar energy, there are other issues such as intermittency and limitations in battery capacity, he noted.

For example, solar energy is intermittent, which refers to energy not being generated at a constant rate due to cloud cover.

What countries need are intelligent, integrated energy mixes which may include more renewable energy and less nuclear power, Mr Grossi added.

Responding to a question on whether the IAEA has to “allow” a country to explore nuclear energy, Mr Grossi said it is every country’s sovereign right to decide to go for a nuclear programme.

But those that are keen to do so must abide by stringent nuclear safety and security rules, he said.

“A country that wants a nuclear programme must be a party to the Convention on Nuclear Safety. It must be a party to the IAEA (and) must submit itself to peer reviews and monitoring,” he said.

The IAEA Convention on Nuclear Safety requires parties that operate land-based civil nuclear power plants to submit reports for “peer review”, according to the IAEA’s website.

“It is a system that has an interlocking network of regulatory, mutual checks with the IAEA in coordination. So this gives countries the certainty that... you know what your neighbour is doing,” he said.

The IAEA chief also said it is “logical” for Singapore to consider tapping nuclear energy, as the island state has limited access to renewable energy options.

But that decision ultimately lies with the Government and Singaporeans.

The Republic has yet to make a decision to tap nuclear energy.

“I think for Singapore, there are no insurmountable challenges... in some countries, it could be the financing or the lack of human capacity, workforce,” he said. “You don’t have those problems in Singapore... many boxes have been checked already in Singapore.”

On the risk of deploying nuclear energy in the city state, Mr Grossi said there are already protocols in place here to monitor radioactivity levels, and procedures on what to do in case of accidents.

In Singapore, the National Environment Agency manages a suite of tools to keep track of ambient radiation levels, including around 40 radiation monitoring stations for air and water islandwide.

The agency is also working with other countries in the region to set up a South-east Asian early warning network, with sensors deployed across the countries and data shared in the event of an emergency.

“No country can start a nuclear programme without having very severe nuclear safety preconditions being in place,” he added.