It’s time to go nuclear

A contentious subject between many environmentalists and progressive politicians is that of nuclear power. Many argue that it is too dangerous to handle, and one doesn't have to look too far in the past to see their point. 

The disasters of Chernobyl and Fukushima are two deadly reminders. But the sobering truth is, along with fossil fuel taxation, nuclear power is the only way that we can fight climate change fast enough. 

Last month, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report which observed changes in Earth's environment across the entire climate system. According to the report, the temperature within Earth's atmosphere will increase more than 2º C, unless there is a rapid and substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. 

At first, 2º C doesn't seem like a lot—most of us don't even notice a difference of that scale. But the report outlines that the consequences it holds for our planet is nothing short of dire. 

The increase in the temperature will cause more evaporation and condensation; rainfall, flooding, and drought will intensify in many parts of the world, including the monsoons in Bangladesh.

Permafrost in the Arctic and Antarctic tundras will thaw faster than it already does, and glaciers and ice sheets will melt. The loss of seasonal snow cover and summer Arctic and Antarctic ice will amplify, and in turn, result in sea level rise. 

Coastal areas across the globe, especially low-lying countries like ours will find themselves in dire straits as the sea level continues to rise; coastal flooding and coastal erosion will become more severe. In fact, the IPCC estimates that around 27 million Bangladeshis will be displaced by sea-level rise by 2050. 

This report comes at a time during which we need to be extremely aware of the consequences of our actions towards the climate. 

During the industrial boom of the late 19th century, the global temperature increased 1.1º C over a period of 50 years (1850 to 1900), but the report estimates that 'we will reach or exceed an increase of 1.5º C' within the next two decades. 

Unless we completely overhaul the way we generate our power, there really isn't any hope for us to stay 'well below the 2º C' limit outlined by the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. 

Of course, renewable energy such as solar and wind puts a dent in greenhouse gas emissions, but they are mostly intermittent sources that do not provide continuous power.

There is no denying the fact that nuclear power is expensive. The construction cost of the Rooppur power plant exceeds Tk. 107,000 crore ($12.6 billion), which is almost one-fifth of the entire national budget for FY 2021-22. 

It is expensive to operate, too. On average, it costs around Tk. 7.65 (9 cents) to operate a nuclear power plant for every kilowatt-hour (KWh) of energy it produces, including its capital cost. The Rooppur plant is a 2.4 GWh (2,400,000 KWh) plant, which means it will most likely cost around Tk1.8 crore ($211,700) to operate at full capacity. 

The materials used to power a nuclear plant are, as mentioned before, extremely dangerous to humans. Spent nuclear fuel contains caesium and strontium isotopes, both of which are extremely radioactive and exposure to these materials can cause multifarious problems to a human body.  

A significant portion of spent nuclear fuel is not recycled; in fact countries such as the United States does not recycle spent nuclear fuel at all. Instead, it is simply stored in a pool of water underground, as it cannot be discarded anywhere else due to its radioactivity. 

The Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters are the fulcrum of the anti-nuclear power argument. 

The city of Pripyat in the Ukrainian SSR was engulfed by radioactive fallout after reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl plant exploded in 1986, and it still remains a desolate and deserted city. 

But now, we know that the cause of this explosion was in all likelihood human error. There were 205 control rods inserted into the core, but were then taken out and mistakenly reinserted during a safety test.

 The design of the control rods were flawed. A portion of the rods were made of graphite and was never meant to be reinserted. Graphite is a chemical moderator and it accelerated the nuclear chain reaction, which caused the overheat and subsequent steam explosion. 

 In 2011, the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant overheated after the Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused its power systems to flood. As designed, the reactor shut down during the earthquake, but the reactor continued to generate heat as the cooling system could not be switched on. 

This was due to the fact that the sea wall was very low, and the backup power systems were all underground. Unable to cool themselves, all the reactors at Fukushima melted down one by one.

These are all problems that we know how to deal with. In fact, most nuclear power plants have gone through inspections and they either corrected their design flaws or were shut down, for example, all new nuclear plants have containment buildings and multiple fail-safe cooling systems. 

While all this is extremely expensive, nuclear power plants are also going through a vast overhaul in the way that they work. The technology is being completely reworked to make it more efficient, cost-effective and most importantly, safer. 

Photo: Collected

There is no chance that a Chernobyl or Fukushima type accident will be repeated in a next-generation reactor. Both of these were cases where a water-cooled reactor overheated. Advanced reactors such as Molten Salt Reactors or Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors are not water-cooled, and they are both designed so they physically cannot overheat, as an increase in temperature will dilute the nuclear fuel, allowing neutrons to escape, and thus stopping the chain reaction. 

The next generation of nuclear power plants will become more popular by the turn of the decade, but even traditional nuclear plants are becoming increasingly more feasible to implement across the world.

There is a steady decline in the operating costs of nuclear power. According to Statista, in 2016, the average cost of 1 MWh of nuclear power was $36 (Tk. 3,145) in the United States, but in 2019 it is almost $6 cheaper. Other countries such as South Korea have even lower costs. 

Countries such as France are also starting to recycle their spent nuclear fuel and reuse it within their traditional nuclear power plants. This is imperative for them, as almost three-fourths (74 percent) of the entire power supply of the country comes from nuclear power.

We must forget our fear of nuclear power if we want to save our planet. Renewable power is perhaps the best way in the future, but for now, nuclear power is the only way we can cause rapid change. It's time to go nuclear.

Aveir Alam is an undergraduate student at Occidental College, living in Los Angeles, California

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.