Today, days after disaster struck, Japan continues to face tremors and threats of possible nuclear radiation. The world watches, continues to provide help and hopes for the best. There is a knee-jerk reaction across countries, with governments checking their backyards, questioning nuclear safety standards, stress tests and technology used.
Japan has no coal, no natural gas, and no oil. It is only 16 percent energy self-sufficient. It’s the third largest oil consumer in the world and the second-largest net importer of crude oil. It is the world's largest importer of both liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal. Japan is the third largest consumer of nuclear power in the world, after the United States and France. It is consciously increasing its use of alternative ‘renewable energy’ resources with 11% of its energy consumption being nuclear, 17% natural gas and 3% hydro. Having the best technology and safety standards, in the wake of the disaster it now faces, the saving grace till now is that the nuclear threat is still minuscule compared to the Chernobyl, Ukraine accident of 1986.
Germany shut down 7 of its 17 nuclear reactors as they are now re-considering extending the life of these atomic power plants. In Brussels, European Union energy officials and nuclear regulators planned an emergency meeting to assess the security of nuclear plants in the 27-nation bloc. The meeting was not about reducing the scale of the nuclear industry but limited to urgent and practical safety measures. Responding to environmental concerns over France's own big nuclear power sector, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said there should be a debate on safety but insisted that “to say to the French that we are going to give up nuclear power would be lying.” Despite protests China declared that it will not suspend the ongoing construction of the no. 4 nuclear power plant. People are protesting across the world, but who is listening?
Closer home, the focus has shifted from nuclear liability to safety of the proposed nuclear reactors in Jaitapur. It is an earthquake prone zone and will generate nuclear waste, but how will that be stored? No one is talking about these issues. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has been asked to conduct technical reviews of safety systems and design. The PM has ordered a review of safety systems at all nuclear plants in the country.
If an advanced country like Japan could be devastated by a magnitude 9 earthquake and Tsunami, where is our humility? Can we be truly prepared? Can we think big, beyond our little backyard? Are we be truly global? Is nuclear fuel “clean”? Should it be an option at all? Are we such slaves to our economies that we cannot think of progress without? Can we predict future disasters? What if the epicenter was not so kind? Do we really understand the ‘true’ price of a nuclear tragedy? Does technology really provide solutions or can it be an impediment? Are we ready to put our foot down? Can we stop this so called ‘progress’ dead in its tracks?
