IFCE Weekly Environment/Energy News (Apr.22-Apr.28,2011)
April 22, 2011
First strategic research report on China's environment
released
The Macro Strategic Research Report on China's Environment, the first of its kind in China, was
officially released at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 21.
The report took over 50 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the
Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) as well as hundreds of experts three years to compile.
CAE President Zhou Ji said that according to the research results, although China's environment
has improved in some regions, the overall situation continues to deteriorate, which places the
country under increasing environmental pressure. The country's overall environmental quality
has not reached a turning point.
Zhou Shengxian, chief of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, said that the ministry will
make efforts to achieve the strategic objectives in the report through cooperation with many
other governmental agencies. According to the report, emissions of major pollutants should be
considerably reduced by 2020, and the environmental safety should be effectively guaranteed.
By 2030, the aggregate emissions of all pollutants should be significantly reduced, and the overall
environmental quality should be greatly improved. By 2050, the environmental quality should
match the people's high quality of life as well as the country's status as a modern and powerful
socialist country.
By People's Daily Online
China
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/98649/7359153.html
China Sets Roadmap to Curb Major Pollutants
2011-04-22
China will continue its efforts to curb emissions of major pollutants and improve the environment
in the coming decades, according to a study, jointly released by the Ministry of Environmental
Protection and the Chinese Academy of Engineering on Thursday.
In a three-step roadmap, as pointed out by the study, China will effectively curb the emission of
major pollutants and ensure the nation' s environmental safety by 2020. By the end of 2030, the
emissions volume of all pollutants will be "under full control" and improvements will have been
made in overall environmental quality.
In the final stage, environmental quality should be compatible with people's increasing quality of
living and China's rapid economic development by the end of 2050.
"China now faces more pressure on pollution control than any other country in the world.
Challenges facing the environment and natural resources are among the harshest," said Zhou
Shengxian, environmental protection minister, at the study's launch ceremony.
According to Zhou, the Chinese government will cut the emission of four major pollutants, sulfur
dioxide, chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen and nitrogen oxide, by 1.5 percent from the
2010 level.
And by the end of 12th Five-year Plan period (2011-2015), emissions of sulfur dioxide and chemical
oxygen demand will decrease 8%, while the ammonia nitrogen and nitrogen oxide will decrease by
10%.
Ammonia nitrogen and nitrogen oxide were newly added to the country's major pollutants
monitoring list in accordance with the environmental protection plan for the 12 Five-Year Plan.
The government will also make and improve policies for emission reductions, such as favorable
prices for electricity used during industrial pollutant disposal and higher fees for urban sewage
emissions, Zhou said.
Zhou Ji, head of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that the country must utilize limited
natural resources in an efficient and sustainable manner through improving production and other
technologies.
http://english.mep.gov.cn/News_service/media_news/201104/t201104
22_209591.htm
EU&US
US gas well contained, but concerns rise on 'fracking'
by Daniel Kelley – Fri Apr 22, 2:05 pm ET
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AFP) – Crews in Pennsylvania gained control Friday of a natural gas
well that blew out and spilled thousands of gallons of chemical-laden drilling fluid into the
environment over two days.
But the incident has drawn attention to concerns over a controversial drilling process of
hydraulic fracturing or "fracking," which is seen as having enormous potential for capturing
natural gas but has environmental risks.
The operator of the well, Chesapeake Energy, has suspended operations at its wells in
Pennsylvania pending its investigation into the causes of the spill.
The environmental damage from the spill is unclear. The exact amount of fluid that spilled from
the well was not disclosed, and it was not clear exactly what the fluid contains.
State environmental officials were taking samples to determine the extent of the damage, said
Paul Spadoni, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Some of the fluid spilled into a nearby creek. Company officials asserted in a statement that
"initial testing from Towanda Creek indicates little, if any, significant effect to local waterways."
The well is located near Canton, Pennsylvania, in Bradford County. Canton is about 280
kilometers (175 miles) northwest of Philadelphia, near the border of New York state, which has
imposed a moratorium on fracking.
Hydraulic fracturing involves forcing chemicals deep into a well to dislodge natural gas from
shale thousands of feet below the surface.
However, the method risks poisoning the water wells that many rural landowners in
Pennsylvania rely on. The high pressure chemicals could dislodge other underground chemicals
that might find their way into the water wells of homeowners.
Despite the controversy, the method is on the rise in Pennsylvania and across the country. The
high price of natural gas has encouraged drilling, and new technology has made it possible to
reach gas never before considered viable.
Proponents of such drilling say it provides much needed jobs in rural areas with depressed
economies.
But opponents say the risks are high. The state's Department of Environmental Protection
recently issued a list of all of the chemicals found in the drilling fluid. A newly released
Congressional report listed far more chemicals used in drilling operations, many of them
carcinogenic.
Amy Mall of the Natural Resources Defense Council said the latest accident highlights the
dangers of fracking.
"Pennsylvania has become a national sacrifice zone for natural gas development. It has seen
more than its share of drinking water contamination, houses exploding, and destroyed
landscapes and communities," she said.
"These incidents, and many other spills, leaks, and explosions, reveal that accidents are not being
prevented."
The spill came at a sensitive time for the oil and gas industry. The blowout occurred on the eve of
the one-year anniversary of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
On the day before the blowout, state environmental officials asked gas drillers to stop delivering
waste water to public wastewater treatment facilities. The spill itself occurred on the day that
state environmental officials decided to allow natural gas drilling in state game lands, areas
reserved for hunting.
Fueling interest in gas is what is believed to be a massive reserve in the so-called Marcellus Shale
over a wide area of the eastern United States.
Pennsylvania State University's Terry Engelder estimates the Marcellus shale holds between 168
trillion and 516 trillion cubic feet of gas that can be "easily produced."
www.terradaily.com/afp/110422174359.9fspgt36.html
April 23, 2011
EU&US
Obama sees no magic bullet to push down gas prices
By Steve Holland – Sat Apr 23, 6:10 am ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Barack Obama told Americans on Saturday there is no "magic bullet"
to bring down high gasoline prices and said he wants to end what he called $4 billion in taxpayer
subsidies to oil and gas companies.
Obama is feeling the heat from gasoline prices that are about $4 a gallon and may surge higher.
A New York Times-CBS News poll found that 70 percent of Americans believe the country is on
the wrong track and analysts believe gas prices are a main reason.
The president devoted his weekly radio and Internet address to outlining his views on the U.S.
energy predicament, saying clean energy is ultimately the way forward for a country long
addicted to gas-guzzling vehicles.
"Now, whenever gas prices shoot up, like clockwork, you see politicians racing to the cameras,
waving three-point plans for $2 gas. You see people trying to grab headlines or score a few
points. The truth is, there's no silver bullet that can bring down gas prices right away," he said.
Obama, in the early stages of his 2012 re-election campaign, has been seeing steady
improvement in the U.S. economy. But rising gasoline prices are forcing Americans to pay more
out of their income, which some fear could harm the fragile economic recovery.
Obama said it is time to eliminate what he called $4 billion in annual "taxpayer subsidies" to oil
and gas companies.
"That's $4 billion of your money going to these companies when they're making record profits
and you're paying near record prices at the pump. It has to stop," he said.
The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled a working group of federal agencies to probe
potential fraud in the energy markets that affects pump prices, including actions by speculators.
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Obama accused Republicans of seeking to cut 70 percent in government spending to encourage
development of clean energy projects.
"Instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy sources, we need to invest in tomorrow's. We need to
invest in clean, renewable energy," he said.
"Yes, we have to get rid of wasteful spending -- and make no mistake, we're going through every
line of the budget scouring for savings. But we can do that without sacrificing our future," he
added.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in response to the president that the Obama
administration over the past two years has "declared what can only be described as a war on
American energy."
"It's canceled dozens of drilling leases, imposed a moratorium on drilling off the Gulf Coast and
increased permit fees. It's done just about everything it can to keep our own energy sector from
growing," McConnell said.
McConnell said more must be done to increase domestic oil production.
The comments by Obama and McConnell came three days after the anniversary of the giant BP
Plc oil spill off the coast of Louisiana that caused economic and environmental harm to the U.S.
Gulf Coast.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/23/us-obama-energyidUSTRE73M10820110423
The 'Green' Economy: How green are my jobs?
COLCHESTER — The abundant economic promise of the new green economy was not much in
evidence last week at the "Green Career Fair" in the St. Michael's College student center.
Of the 10 environmental organizations that were supposed to be on hand to discuss employment
"opportunities," four were no-shows. With one exception, the opportunities all were for
volunteers or interns.
Students wandered by during the lunch hour, to and from the dining hall, and some paused to
chat with representatives or to pick up literature, but the reps didn't get much business. At the
end of two hours, the tables with sign-up sheets had no more than a handful of signatures.
Ironically, it didn't help that the green career fair was held during Earth Week. Most job fairs take
place earlier in the spring.
The notion of a green career is tied to that of a "green economy" — low-carbon, environmentally
friendly, driven by renewable energy, and so on. But whether green enterprise will become a
major economic engine in American society at large — and create myriad new jobs of all kinds
that somehow tip society's balance in favor of "sustainability" — remains to be seen.
The subdued tenor of the event at St. Michael's probably says as much about the job market for
college graduates as it does about the green economy. Permanent entry-level jobs can be hard
to find, so many students apply for internships as a fallback.
Cassandra Burns, a job-hunting senior, said a lot of her fellow students were headed for
volunteer duty in programs — such as the Peace Corps, or Americorps — that would ease their
loan burdens. She has applied for several paid internships offered through Vermont Businesses
for Social Responsibility — one of the organizations represented at the fair.
"I'm not looking for anything permanent," Burns said. She just wants to save some money before
going to graduate school.
Increasingly, internships serve as bridges to full-time employment, said Ingrid Peterson, the
college's associate director of employer relations and career counseling.
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110424/GREEN01/104240311/TheGreen-Economy-How-green-my-jobs-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
April 24, 2011
EU&US
BP gets legal boost from U.S. Coast Guard report
LONDON | Sun Apr 24, 2011 8:27am EDT
(Reuters) - BP Plc's court claim against Transocean Ltd has received a boost after the United
States Coast Guard found the rig owner contributed to theGulf of Mexico the oil spill, the Sunday
Telegraph reported.
The newspaper reported that, in a 288-page report into the disaster, the U.S. Coast Guard
blamed Transocean for its "serious safety management system failures" and its "poor safety
culture."
The report, which followed a major investigation, said: "Collectively, this record raises
serious questions whether Transocean's safety culture was a factor that contributed to the
disaster."
A barrage of court claims pitting BP against its partners in the Gulf ofMexico oil spill could lay
the groundwork for billions of dollars in settlements to spread the costs of the disaster
April 25, 2011
EU&US
White House lashes oil firms ahead of earnings
– Mon Apr 25, 2:45 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The White House on Monday lashed out at US energy giants expected to
announce bumper quarterly profits this week, even as Americans see wallets hit by rising prices
at the pump.
President Barack Obama's administration poured more fuel on a delicate political debate, which
is certain to be a key issue and driver of voter sentiment as his 2012 reelection campaign gathers
pace.
Obama is pushing for four billion dollars of government subsidies paid to giant firms to be
diverted to investment in clean energy development, which he says is key to weaning America
from oil produced in volatile regions of the world.
"Major oil and gas companies are going to report this week, significant, if not record profits," said
White House spokesman Jay Carney.
"Given the constraints that we are under, given the need to tighten our belts, given the need to
reduce the deficit, this president feels very strongly that it is inappropriate to continue those
subsidies."
"When Americans are going every day of the week to their local gas station and filling up and
seeing a tank of gas costs 60, 70, 80 dollars, I think they would be appalled to learn that major oil
and gas companies would be announcing record profits this week," Carney said.
"It's good for American companies to have profit. What is not necessary is for the taxpayers to
subsidize companies that are experiencing those kind of record or substantial profits."
The vast oil and gas industry benefits for a range of tax breaks and incentives focusing on the
prospecting and exploration of new fields.
The industry has warned that any drop in government subsidies will cost jobs at a time when the
administration is battling to bring down high unemployment after the worst economic crisis in
decades.
Obama, who knows that consumer pain over rising gasoline prices can exert a painful political
cost for incumbents, launched the latest administration assault on the oil and gas industry last
week in Nevada.
"Four billion dollars a year are going to companies that are making record profits -- even during
the recession they were making big profits," the president said in a town hall meeting in Reno.
"These folks don't need further incentives by getting a better deal than the mom-and-pop shop
down the street are getting when it comes to their taxes.
"Instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy sources, let's invest in tomorrow's."
Markets are awaiting quarterly results from firms including ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and
Chevron this week.
First-quarter earnings at four of the largest oil companies are expected to improve by 22 percent
to 56 percent, according to the latest poll of analysts by Thomson Financial.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, the average cost of a gallon of gasoline
in the United States is close to four dollars, a rise of nearly a dollar over a year ago.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110425/ts_alt_afp/usenergyoilcompanypolitics;_ylt=
Ag_xd4ij2VsiV.SLjM.hxq8S.MwF;_ylu=X3oDMTMxZzRkM28
http://www.france24.com/en/20110425-white-house-lashes-oil-firms-ahead-earnings
April 26, 2011
China
Closer cooperation on environmental protection among
China, Japan, ROK needed: officials
English.news.cn 2011-04-26 03:48:08
Photo taken on April 25, 2011 shows the sixth session of the Northeast Asia Trilateral Forum in
Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. The annual session of the Northeast Asia
Trilateral Forum opened here on Sunday, holding former political leaders, scholars and
entrepreneurs from China, Japan and South Korea to discuss issues of common interests. The
forum, cosponsored by China's Xinhua News Agency, Japan's Nikkei news group and South
Korea's leading daily newspaper, Joong-Ang Ilbo, seeks to strengthen non-governmental
exchanges among the three nations. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)
HANGZHOU, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Delegations from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK)
on Monday called for a closer cooperation on disaster relief and environmental protection
among the three countries.
At the 6th Session of the Northeast Asia Trilateral Forum in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang
Province, officials and scholars from the three countries said that the on-going Japan nuclear
crisis reflected a lack of regional cooperation in alleviating environmental problems.
Disasters such as earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis cannot be solved single-handedly by one
country, said former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone in a written statement at the
forum .
Meng Wei, president of the China Environmental Science Research Institute, said, the nuclear
crisis has been threatening the environment of the whole region and a dialogue mechanism on
disaster relief should be established.
Former Minister of Environment of ROK, Kim Myung-Ja, said there is no national boundary in
face of nuclear radiation, and the three countries should work together to ensure nuclear safety.
The Northeast Asia Trilateral Forum is co-sponsored by China's Xinhua News Agency, Japan's
Nikkei news group and the ROK's leading daily newspaper, Joong-Ang Ilbo, seeks to strengthen
non-governmental exchanges among the three nations.
The yearly event has alternated locations among the three countries since 2006.
The 6th Session of the Northeast Asia Trilateral Forum lasted from Sunday to Monday. The event
was attended by figures from political, academic and business circles in China, Japan and the ROK.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/26/c_13845530.htm
April 27, 2011
China
China Drafting Special Law on Climate Change
2011-04-27
China's chief negotiator to UN climate change talks said on Tuesday that the country is drafting a
special law dedicated to climate change and will explore a low carbon development path suitable
to China.
"We are in the process of preparing for a special law dedicated to climate change and we have
already set up a working group and started the preliminary work," Xie Zhenhua said while
attending the launch of a study of climate change-related legislation by Global Legislators
Organization (GLOBE).
Xie, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top
economic planning body, said China attached great importance to the legislation of climate
change and has already published relevant regulations concerning the management of Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM) projects and international cooperation on climate change.
In its latest efforts, the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, has approved the
country's 12th Five-Year Plan in March, identifying the proactive approach to combat climate
change as a key element.
According to the plan, China will reduce energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product
(GDP) by 16 percent and lower CO2 emission per unit of GDP by 17 percent in the next five years.
And the targets are "legally binding domestically," Xie said.
The vice chairman said that China will draw on experiences from other countries in climate change
legislation and deepen cooperation with its global partners.
The study launched by GLOBE revealed that legislation is being advanced, to varying degrees, in all
of the 16 major economies.
"It is particularly encouraging that the large developing countries of Brazil, China, India, Mexico
and South Africa -- who together represent the engine of global economic growth"-- are
developing comprehensive laws to tackle climate change," the report noted.
But the report said that current legislation does not yet, cumulatively, add up to what is necessary
to avoid dangerous climate change.
GLOBE said it hoped that the report will act as a baseline from which legislators will work to
further advance legislation in 2011 and beyond.
http://english.mep.gov.cn/News_service/media_news/201104/t20110427_209808.ht
m
Middle route of China's south-north water diversion project to
open in 2014:official
Middle route of China's south-north water diversion project to open in 2014: official
The middle route of China's south-north water diversion project will come into service after
2014's flood season, said an official with the State Council.
Zhang Ye, deputy head of the South-to-North Water Diversion Office under the State Council,
made the remarks at an opening ceremony for a construction project that will connect the
route's Yellow River section with its Yangtze River section.
The ceremony was held in the city of Nanyang in central China's Henan Province.
Zhang said the first phase of the middle route construction project will be completed by the end
of 2013, adding that all major projects along the main line of the route have already started
construction.
The 474-kilometer-long connection between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River will pass
through four cities and eighteen counties and cost 51.43 billion yuan (about 7.89 billion U.S.
dollars), he said.
The total length of the route's main line is 1,432 kilometers and will run across the municipalities
of Beijing and Tianjian and the provinces of Hebei and Henan. It is expected to handle 9.5 billion
cubic meters of water annually, he added.
The massive south-north water diversion project is designed to take water from China's largest
river, the Yangtze, to the country's arid northern regions. Water will flow northward via three
routes - an eastern route, a middle route and a western route.
The project started with the construction of the eastern route in 2002. The construction of the
middle route followed in 2003. Pre-construction evaluations of the western route will begin soon.
The middle and eastern routes ran up costs of 114.98 billion yuan by the end of March 2011,
according to the project office.
Source: Xinhua
http://www.mwr.gov.cn/english/Medianews/201104/t20110427_262683.html
EU&US
Environmental fight: Tortoises vs. solar energy
– Wed Apr 27, 9:16 pm ET
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – A federal assessment shows more than 3,000 desert tortoises that are
threatened with extinction would be disturbed by a California solar project, and up to 700 of the
young turtles would be killed during construction.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management assessment released Tuesday is far more than
BrightSource Energy Co.'s prediction that an estimated 38 of the rare reptiles would be disturbed
by construction at the 5.6-acre Ivanpah Valley site near Primm, Nev.
Questions over the California tortoises highlight tensions in the U.S. between wilderness
conservation and the quest for cleaner power.
The dispute is likely to echo for years as more companies seek to develop solar, wind and
geothermal plants on land treasured by environmentalists who also support the growth of
alternative energy. At issue is what is worth preserving and at what cost, as California pushes to
generate more electricity from renewable sources.
Federal officials this month ordered BrightSource to halt construction activity on two-thirds of
the project.
In a statement, company spokesman Kelley Wachs said the government projections "are not
consistent with the actual numbers of tortoise found on the project site."
"It appears that the largest concentrations of tortoise are outside the project and in areas that
we designed the project to avoid," Wachs said.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported that the BLM's new assessment estimates that up to 162
adult tortoises in the project area will have to be captured and moved and up to 700 juvenile
tortoises would be killed during construction.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will use the new estimates to determine whether finishing the
project puts the species in jeopardy. If not, the agency is expected to set new limits on how the
animals may be killed, injured or harassed.
Environmentalists wanted the energy complex relocated because they said it will harm tortoises.
BrightSource made design changes intended to alleviate environmental concerns.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42791429/ns/us_news-environment/
April 28, 2011
EU&US
Underpowered and unsafe, Pakistan's nuclear reactors are
just big boys' toys
Pakistan's reactors provide only a tiny amount of energy at great health risk to millions, yet the
government wants to build more
People enjoy the sea by the Kanupp nuclear power plant near Karachi. Photograph: James L Stanfield/National Geographic/Getty
Shrouded in secrecy and jealously guarded by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, there is
little public debate about Pakistan's nuclear safety record in the wake of what is happening at
Fukushima.
There are two main reactors used for energy production in Pakistan: the ageing plant on the
coast near Karachi (Kanupp) and the nuclear plant near Chashma Barrage on the Indus River
(Chasnupp I). Between them, they provide only about 350 MW of energy, just 2% of Pakistan's
energy demand. A second nuclear reactor at Chashma (Chasnupp II) is being tested and should
start operations soon. They are extremely costly, at about US $1bn for each of the Chasma
reactors, plus they are very unsafe, according to two of the country's top physicists who teach at
the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
"Kanupp only produces 50MW while Chasnupp I produces 300MW. Chasnupp II only came on
line in March this year and will produce another 300MW as well," says nuclear physicist Dr
Pervez Hoodhboy.
"The PAEC would become irrelevant without them – it is a matter of ego for them to keep the
reactors going … they are nothing more than toys." Kanupp, which is under repairs, is currently
being run at only 30% of its capacity. "It generates enough electricity to power just 3% of the city
[Karachi]", says physics professor A H Nayyar.
To make matters worse, the safety aspect of the plant is alarming. Kanupp came into commercial
operation in 1972 and has outlived its 30-year lifespan, but the PAEC – which is part of Pakistan's
Ministry of Defence – has given it a 10-year extension and now intends to keep it going even
longer with some repairs and replacements. "The operators working there privately say that this
reactor has gone beyond its life and they are afraid that something could go wrong," says Dr
Pervez, who has visited Kanupp. "The structure has been weakened by decades of radiation."
He says that the plant is only superficially monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency,
who "do not have the capacity to look at everything important in a reactor". Kanupp is located
next to the Arabian Sea and in the 1990s radioactive cooling water accidentally leaked from the
plant, but officials played down the incident. The spent fuel is stored onsite and should an
accident occur, the devastation would be very great.
There are also several major faults around Karachi and the southern coast of the Makran, so
earthquakes and tsunamis cannot be ruled out. In November 1945 there was a tsunami that hit
the coast triggered by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake. Should an accident occur, the coastal winds
could blow the radioactive plume over Karachi, which has grown to a population of nearly 15
million in the past 30 years and there are homes close to the reactor now. "There is the absence
of a safety culture. Then there is the incapability of the authorities to deal with anything of this
magnitude," says Dr Pervez.
The reactors in Chashma, though newer, are not any safer due to their location in a seismic zone.
In fact, Prof Nayyar pointed out the dangers in a report he co-authored in 1999 for Princeton
University's Centre for Energy and Environmental Studies (pdf). Chasnupp I and II are located on
the banks of the Indus river, Pakistan's lifeline and a major source of fresh water for irrigation
and domestic use.
There are several safety concerns here about the design: Chasma I was built by the Chinese on
their indigenous model which proved to be quite faulty as the original, Qinshan I, developed
problems with its water flows. The reactor's nuclear vessel had to be fixed by engineers from US
nuclear technology company Westinghouse after being contacted by the Chinese authorities.
Pakistan buys its nuclear reactors from the Chinese, because no one else is willing to sell to them.
As for the Chinese, they have no other market to sell their nuclear products to, as there are far
more experienced producers around such as France.
More importantly, according to Prof Nayyar: "The region is earthquake-prone and in case of
seismic activity, the soil can liquify and cause a landslide. What would happen to the reactor
then?" The Chasma reactors are built on sandy river shores and not on a solid rock base, as was
the case with Fukushima. The PAEC claims that underneath the reactors are a five-metre
reinforced concrete and cement base, which would protect reactors in case of an earthquake.
But what about the water and electricity connections? They would be cut off if the base moves
during seismic activity. "We shared our concerns with the PAEC and in return they did some
more seismological studies, and that's it," says Prof Nayyar.
There is a regulating authority called the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority set up in 2005 by
the government, but this is staffed by former PAEC officials. When contacted, the head of their
information services directorate, Mohd Ali Awan, said: "Although the plants are safe as per the
regulatory requirements and international standards set by the IAEA, in the wake of the
Fukushima accident, the PNRA has asked the PAEC to review safety and emergency plans."
However, no deadline has been given to the PAEC.
In the meantime, there is a plan by the Pakistani government to build even more nuclear
reactors. According to Dr Pervez: "It is hard to understand their continued enthusiasm to acquire
more reactors. By 2030 they want 8000MW of power from nuclear energy, which is an absurd
goal". The government has neither the money nor the technical know-how to build two more
reactors, but they are hoping once again the Chinese will help them out with credit and expertise.
Pakistan's expensive nuclear toys might prove to be lethal but it seems they are to be bought at
any cost.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/apr/28/unregulatedunsafe-pakistan-nuclear-reactors