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To The Government of Peoples’ Republic of
Bangladesh. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Subject:
Concerns over the Safety and Economic Viability of the Proposed Rooppur
Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) 30 June 2013 We, the scientists, engineers, academics,
doctors, surgeons and other professionals of Bangladeshi origin living abroad
as well as conscientious foreign nationals and dignitaries, are very much
concerned about the safety and economic viability of the proposed nuclear
power plant at Rooppur. Our concerns arise from the following considerations: 1. The site
at Rooppur, by the River Padma, was chosen more than 50 years ago for a 10MWe
prototype nuclear power plant on purely political grounds by the then
Pakistani Junta (in 1961). No site selection procedure or environmental
impact assessment was ever conducted, but the present government wants to
build not just one but two 1000 MWe units on the same site. The River Padma
is now heavily silted due to extraction of as much as 75 per cent of water
during the lean summer months by India using Farakka Barrage only 40km
upstream of the proposed site. The remaining amount of water is woefully
inadequate to meet the plant cooling requirement for even one 1000MWe plant!
This would increase the risk of nuclear accident as in Fukushima (loss of
coolant accident) to an unacceptable level and the present government ignores
this stark reality! 2. The
Bangladesh government seems to have been blinded by the Russian offer to
build a nuclear power plant and provide the loans for it. No consideration
has been given to the suitability of the proposed plant (VVER-1000) or its
safety standards. The VVER-1000 is quite outdated. Its safety standards fall so short that even in Russia
the construction of a VVER-1000 plant was cancelled in 2008. Former Soviet
block countries had to agree to decommission VVER-400 and VVER-1000 reactors
before being allowed to join the EU. So why is Bangladesh now accepting such
an outdated, unsafe and discarded model? 3. The Minister in
Charge and the Chairman of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission claim that
Russia will build each of these units of VVER-1000 for $2 billion. However,
Russia has said nothing at all to that effect. Of this $2billion, $500million
will be spent on an exhibition centre, feasibility studies etc. The remaining
$1,500 million is inadequate as a similar plant in China, with quality third
party parts, is costing $4,500 million. 4.
Bangladesh has no technical expertise or skilled manpower to undertake such a
complex and high tech project. On top of that, the country has no industrial
infrastructure and the transport system is absolutely rudimentary. Most of
the materials to be used in the plant such as the quality assured high grade
stainless steel, pipes, valves, pumps and other components will have to be
imported and the cost will simply be prohibitive. 5.
Bangladesh has no institutional and regulatory framework to undertake a
complex project like this and consequently safety standards will be seriously
impaired. The Minister in Charge claimed that Russia has assured Bangladesh
of the safety of the plant; whereas the Russian state owned company, Rosatom
(reactor vendor) has rightly asserted that the responsibility of ensuring
safety lies with the licensee (Bangladesh government). The Bangladesh
authorities seem to be unaware of the legal implications of the licensing
regime. 6. It seems no
consideration has been given to technical issues associated with the storage,
transportation and disposal of radioactive material and radioactive waste.
The government claims radioactive waste materials will go to Russia but
Russia has said no such agreement has been reached. Given these shortcomings and insurmountable
impediments, the Bangladesh government should seriously consider abandoning
this project. The risk of mismanaging a nuclear power plant is the
inevitable occurrence of a nuclear accident and the consequences are simply
mind boggling – thousands, if not millions, of people will be exposed to high
doses of radiation, large swathes of arable land will be contaminated with
radioactive materials and the country will be lumbered with billions of dollars
of compensation. When advanced countries like Germany, Italy, Switzerland
have all given up nuclear power plants and with Japan
tapering down nuclear power production after the Fukushima disaster,
Bangladesh seems to be charging ahead recklessly. A grand vision is
meaningless without competence, judgement and knowledge. Signed on behalf of Voice for Justice World
Forum http://www.voiceforjustice.org : 1. Dr. Anisur Rahman CRadP MSRP FNucI,
Former Principal Scientist UK Atomic Energy Authority, Voice For
Justice Convenor, Manchester, UK 2. Dr. Hasanat M. Husain MBE, MInstP,
CPhys.(UK), AICTP (Italy), Former Scientific Officer, Atomic Energy
Commission, Dhaka. Former Assoc. Professor, Dept. Of Physics, University of
Dhaka, Zambia, Sebha. Convenor - Voice For Justice World Forum 3. Dr. Hasan Zillur Rahim, Academic,
Physicist and Writer/Editor, Former Scientific Officer, AEC, Dhaka. Joint
Convenor - Voice For Justice World Forum, San Jose, USA. 4. Dr. Peter Custers, Political
Economist, The Netherlands 5. Mr. Ezajur Rahman, VFJ Convenor, Kuwait.
6. Dr. Ataur Rahman, Former Senior
Scientific Officer, Atomic Energy Commission, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 7. Mr. Sadiqur Rahman, Joint Convenor,
Voice For Justice, London, UK. 8. Dr. Zakia Rahman, Department of
Physics, University of Limerick, VFJ Joint Convenor, Ireland 9. Mr. Hasan Mahmud, Convenor, Voice For
Justice, Toronto, Canada 10. Mrs. Dilruba Z. Ara, Academic and
Writer, VFJ Convenor, Lund, Sweden 11. Prof. Quamrul Haider, Dept. of
Physics, Fordham University, New York,USA 12. Dr. Bani Amin, Retired
University Lecturer, Manchester,UK 13. Mr. Ansar Karim Khan, Environmental
Scientist, Toronto, Canada. 14. Prof. M.A. Quaiyum, Registrar,
American International Uniiversity, Bangladesh 15. Mr. Satish Kapur, Political
Activist, Leicester, UK. 16. Mr. Zoglul Hussain, VFJ London, UK 17. Mr. Gulzar Ahmad, VFJ Convenor,
Vienna, Austria 18. Mr. Enamul Majid Choudhury, VFJ
Convenor, Stockholm, Sweden 19. Mr. Aliar Hossain MIBA, MIBC,
MRBF; Director, Regents Consulting Services Ltd, VFJ London, UK 20. Dr Fuad Mukkarram Munawwar Ali,
Physicist and VFJ member, London, UK 21. Mrs. Shahida Husain, MSS, FRS,
Teacher, Joint Convenor, VFJ London, UK 22. Councillor
M. Idu Miah, VFJ Convenor, Greater Manchester, UK 23. Dr. Adeeb
Husain, Queens Hospital, Romford, UK 24. Mr. Mohidur Rahman, VFJ Convenor, Kent, UK 25. Mr. Ahmad
Abdullah, VFJ Joint Convenor, Toronto, Canada 26. Dr. Reaz Talukder, MA, LLB, PhD., Retired
officer and ex-BIDS Staff researcher, VFJ Manchester, UK 27. Mr Colin Short, BSc, MSc, MBA, C.Eng
(Retired) UK 28. Prof. Anis Chowdhury,Professor of Economics, University of Sydney, Australia 29. Prof. Bibhuti Roy,Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science, University of Bremen, Germany |
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