Hazards of nuclear power plant

Photo: AFP

Going for a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and that too from Russia, having the world's worst safety record of nuclear accidents including the Chernobyl disaster is really a foolhardy decision. Chaudhury's write-up titled "Pros and cons of nuclear power plant", published in DS on 12th February, clearly states that since 2011, new NPPs are not being installed anywhere in the world, except for one in USA which already has 104 NPPs! No plants are coming up in Germany, Japan and Canada, among other developed countries. The current trend of investment in power sector is for gas, oil and clean coal fired power plants.
Further it states in the article that between 1952 and 2011 (around 60 years), 33 known (and some unknown) accidents took place in nuclear power plants! This works out to an average of more than one accident every two years! Also, initial capital cost for setting up a NPP, including all safety structures and clearances to be maintained from habitation, is far higher than conventional gas, oil or coal fired or wind, solar and other non-traditional fuel based power plants!
Lastly, least we forget, accidents in NPP have severe long term health and ecological hazards, which could be doubly disastrous for a densely populated and inland location that we have proposed in Bangladesh. It is a potentially dangerous and foolhardy decision, to say the least!