Typical Malaysian Misconceptions

The post is quite lengthy but please take your time to read. I hope we can exchange thoughts about this matter. 

Thanks - nesca

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Like what I mentioned in our first post;

We are always afraid of the things we do not know. We are quick to judge, criticize and even hate the unknowns without fully understanding the causes. It is not entirely our fault to have fear. In fact, it is fear that helps us to differentiate between good and bad. But we must not cloud our visions by relying on fear alone. One must learn and think wisely before making any action. 

• Everyone is afraid of nuclear. In fact everyone will have the same image of mushroom clouds in Hiroshima & Nagasaki whenever the word is mentioned. Why would anyone use nuclear for energy generation when there are other safer alternatives available for people to choose. Why play the risk?

• All this while, I was like that too. I always favour hydro-power power plant over the others. Like everyone else, I'm afraid of the word nuclear itself. Nuclear means bomb. And bomb means destruction. It resembles doomsday.

• Well, that's what I thought until I take a nuclear subject for my degree study. It's an elective subject by the way so why would you think I choose this to fill my degree credit hours eh? To be honest, I'm just curious.

• And that curiosity alone leads me to view nuclear in a different way. Nuclear is essential. It's the future and it will be the main source of energy to all of us. Yes, I admit we have other alternatives to generate electricity; photovoltaic solar power (PV), hydro-power, biomass, wind, geothermal and wave.

• But one must realize, these source of energy are not available to every country. They are limited only to the lucky ones. Taking Malaysia for example, we can only use solar, hydro-power and biomass. We are not located in Pacific Ring of Fire region so geothermal is out. Wind is not constant and strong enough to turn the turbine blades since the country is surrounded by neighbouring islands and mountains. With no wind, of course there will be no waves.

• What about solar? Here in Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) we have 3 PV panels for that and guess what? The panels are supposed to generate 3kWh but our panels can only produce around 1-2kWh even when the sun is shining brightly. Surely, many factors contribute to this. The panels might not be efficient enough. Plus we have high humidity, clouds, rains and no sunlight at night; they affect the energy generation.

Nuclear FAQ

Cherenkov Effect (the blog) has discussed much on what nuclear is all about so this time I'll try to explain some misconceptions regarding the matter:

Nuclear power plants produce harmful radioactive waste while other forms of electrical generation do not.

Mining for coal brings uranium to the surface of earth. That radioactivity can have a greater effect on the environment than nuclear waste. In fact every mining activity releases radioactivity from the ground to the atmosphere. We can't escape this.

Radiation causes cancer. Thus, it cannot be used to cure cancer.

Excessive radiation can cause cancer. However, utilizing the destructive power of radiation on cancerous cells can cure cancer. Radiation occurs everywhere. Read this article to lighten your worries.

Once a material is radioactive it is radioactive forever.

One can physically remove the radioactive particles from the material or wait for it to decay. Some radioactive decay in a short time while other decays might last longer than 10,000 years. 

Are current nuclear power plants unsafe?

Probably so. They were also build 30+ years ago with technology that was even older. We must not compare Fukushima's incident to the new to be build nuclear power plant. 

Can nuclear plants be built and run safely?

Yes. Every submarine and all but one Aircraft Carrier in the United States Navy is run by nuclear reactors. They are berthed at such places as San Diego, Bremerton, King's Bay, and Norfolk Virginia. In over 50+ years there has never been an accident or discharge involving contaminat­ed materials of any significant level -taken from comments here. 

Ok... Let's forget about coal and petroleum. Renewable Energy can cover the electricity demands. It's clean and it's the future.

By 2030 the world energy consumptio­n is going to grow by 50%, renewables alone are not going to cut it especially because right now they're contributi­on is in the single digits compare to 20% of nuclear -taken from comments here. 

States and locales that don't have the wind for windmills, or open space for solar will be forced to burn or buy from elsewhere. Transmission of clean power into these regions will be required to stay clean, even though transmissi­on too has its dirty impacts. Environmen­talists need to be open to this logic, and show a willingnes­s to compromise for the lesser of the evils, and not block the cleaner alternativ­es because they are not perfect.

Malaysia is rich with enough water dams to run the country. We have Bakun dam. More possible sites have been found too.

Indeed. We are blessed with enough rains and rivers to set up hydro-power plants. The question is, are we willing to sacrifice the forest to build one? A big area is needed to hold the water for the dam. Villagers and animals need to be relocated to another area. Bakun dam can produce 2GWh of energy which is enough for Borneo island consumption. 

But we have to understand the possibility of connecting Peninsular and Borneo. Construction cost of building underwater cable can reach up to RM 12 million per kilometre and the cables will be laid across our neighbouring countries. Political views might interfere the process. 

The cost to build a nuclear power plant is too expensive and takes too much time. 20 years to build.

So do with other power plants. The current power supply is enough for now but we're not sure about tomorrow. We are living in a modern world, we use smartphones and advanced computers everyday. The plan to build nuclear power plant in Malaysia is to ensure the stability and constant supply of electricity in the future.

Haih.. I'm not really sure about this nuclear technology. I'm afraid about the consequences. Who knows what might happen?

So am I and all of us. We can't escape the risk. In fact, other energy power plants share the same fate too. Every action comes with consequences. What we can do is to explore and study the options carefully (when I say carefully, I mean in every aspect, theoretically and practically). We have the best engineers, let's put our faith in their hands. Join forums and discussions about nuclear power plant.

Learn the facts, be relevant and reasonable. Have an open mind.