Here are the interview session with DG (Director General) of Malaysia Nuclear Agency, Datuk Dr Daud Mohamad regarding the current nuclear programme in Malaysia.
Credit to : The Star.
What is the role of the Malaysian Nuclear Agency?
Malaysian Nuclear Agency, or Nuclear Malaysia, was established in 1972. There was a world oil crisis, the price of oil from US$5 a barrel shot to to US$15 a barrel within a short time and the then prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak, started looking for new sources of energy. We were so dependent on oil – 80% of our power at that time depended on oil. At that time, they thought of nuclear power.
What are the issues that need to be looked at when going nuclear?
Implementing nuclear power is not an overnight decision. We need to address a lot of issues such as technical, financial, safety and public acceptance. The most important issue at that time was to prepare human capital for Malaysia, to get ourselves ready to go into the nuclear power programme. The government decided to establish the Tun Ismail Atomic Research Centre (Puspati), and it basically prepares human resource for training. But by the mid-seventies, we struck oil and gas, so nuclear power became the last option.
The role of Nuclear Malaysia is to promote nuclear technology and its application in various socio-economic sectors – industry, medical, agriculture, environment and energy.
When did the idea of generating power from nuclear first come about in Malaysia?
The idea has been there since the seventies, but since we had struck oil and gas, we thought why not depend on oil and gas first? We had a lot of gas and oil, so the government decided to focus more on generating electricity using gas particularly, not oil, but now nuclear energy has come into the picture (again). And gas and oil are not renewable. Once you burn gas or oil, that is it.
When will we run out of oil and gas?
Malaysia’s gas resources are diminishing. It would probably be depleted by 2017. We are still a net exporter of oil but in one or two years’ time, we will be net importers like Indonesia. Although they produce a lot of oil, they are now net importers of oil. I believe Malaysia may face the same
situation if we don’t discover new oil and gas fields. I think Petronas has an agreement with Australia to supply gas to Malaysia to generate electricity.
In other words we would be importing our energy?
Yes, we will be basically importing our energy. And the other issue is the environment of course because fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – add to carbon emissions. Nuclear power is clean as it does not release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. We do not have uranium at the moment and it will be imported but the price is still low compared to other sources of energy and it has been stable for many years.
Where would you be importing the uranium from?
Most likely from the United States, maybe France or Russia. These are the countries that are producing nuclear fuel.
How much better is electricity from nuclear?
It will be one of the cheapest forms of electricity. The nuclear power is basically just like hydro. It is capital intensive.
Nevertheless, we cannot be so obsessed with nuclear, for renewable energy technology has not matured yet, and solar energy is still expensive – simply because of the material the solar panel is made from. In future, if we discover new materials which are more efficient and cheaper, probably we could use solar energy.
What phase is the project in now?
First, we need a policy. In the five-fuel policy – which includes oil, gas, coal, hydro and renewable energy – implemented in 2001, nuclear energy is not there yet. The cabinet decided last year to consider nuclear energy as a source of energy in the five-fuel policy. But the final decision does not depend on them.
So on whom or what does the final decision depend?
The final decision will depend on the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) studies and the new energy policy between 2010 and 2030. They have not launched it yet. All this depends on the studies that may include nuclear power as part of the energy mix. They have to identify how many per cent. By what year? By 2020 or beyond 2020? Basically the cabinet has decided beyond 2020. And also we have to follow the United Nations treaty protocols. This is because nuclear power is beyond energy. It not only generates electricity, but also does much more.
Have you identified sites for nuclear power plants?
We are looking for suitable sites. In the seventies we did some surveys with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and identified a few suitable sites, but the mistake was at that time we were not with TNB and we did not secure the site. So the suitable sites have been developed for tourism and industries. The government should secure the sites, whether we go for nuclear power or not. The site must be secured and reserved for the development in case we need nuclear power plants in future.
How is Tenaga Nasional involved?
The cabinet decided to establish a committtee led by KITA and of course this committee is answerable to the cabinet committee on energy, chaired by the prime minister. Under this committee we have three sub-committees. One takes care of the programme development. This is led by Nuclear Malaysia, looking at the overall picture of the nuclear power programme. Then we have the project development led by TNB because they have the experience in the conventional planning and building of power plants.
The third sub-committee is on regulations led by the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) and the energy commission. And of course there are other regulators like the Department of Environment and the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) – these are the major regulators. Other regulators do come in, but it is led by AELB and the energy commission.
Has the public been informed?
Yes, at least for the last three years or so we have engaged the public, the most recent one of course was the one we organised last November. We organised what we call PINE trade. PINE stands for public information on nuclear energy. We have been holding one annually since 2007. The target groups are the stakeholders, NGOs, civil society, parliamentarians, the MPs, and the media of course. I think it is important to share the information with the public through the media. And the MPs too must understand – because they are the policymakers – what is nuclear power and its capabilities. I think it is very important to engage them, so that it is transparent and they can ask and discuss.
Safety is a major issue. How are you going to convince the public that we will not have another Chernobyl?
With any technology you have to take risks. It does not matter whether it is high or low technology – you have to take risks to an extent. I think the nuclear industry is probably the only industry in the world that is very transparent – all the communications are detailed and made known to the public. You will be interested to know that the quality assurance system actually originated from the nuclear industry. We are aware that we have to follow
procedures closely and well.
Malaysia is watched by international watchdogs especially the US and because we were one of the few countries that did not vote for Iran to stop its nuclear power programme – so would we be inviting criticism from world powers if we were to build a nuclear power plant?
I think not. Although Iran was carrying out enrichment, it was strictly meant for the nuclear power programme. It was not for weapons. But the international committee, especially the US, had some doubts. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) statute states it is the right of member states to develop nuclear technology for peaceful uses. Most European countries are using nuclear power though they are using it for peaceful uses.
What do you mean by peaceful uses?
Peaceful uses means using nuclear energy to only generate electricity. Nuclear technology can be applied in various socio-economic sectors and industries. Nuclear technology is used for X-rays. So people should not think of nuclear as something that is destructive.
Japan is probably the only country that can speak with authority on the impact and the effects of the atomic bomb. It has had first-hand experience. But more than 30% of its power comes from nuclear power so you can see nuclear energy has its peaceful uses. I am being very clear when I say we are not going to use nuclear power to build a nuclear bomb or for any other destructive purposes, it is just to generate electricity.
Using and developing nuclear technology for peaceful uses is the right of every member state.
What about nuclear waste management?
That is something that we have to work on. We do have a waste management centre to cater to low and medium level nuclear waste. Countries like Finland, Sweden and Switzerland have experimental plots for nuclear waste disposal. If we want to use nuclear power we have to look for suitable sites to dispose nuclear waste. Australia exports a lot of uranium and Canada is number two. They produce a lot of uranium but the uranium does not move far from the mine. I had worked in a uranium mine in Canada for a couple of years. I can assure you the regulations are very stringent to ensure the environment is not contaminated. Both technology and development are very important. Of course some areas do pose risks of contamination but what is important is that it is under control.
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