ENCH4PE Projects & the Environment

Kyle Pillay (210509133)

Tutorial 2
Word Count: 463

The Honourable Speaker of the House, fellow members of Parliament, Ladies and
Gentlemen
Before us lies a decision which carries with it far-reaching consequences,
whether or not to commit huge sums of taxpayers money to build nuclear power
plants in the near future to help supply a significant proportion of South Africas
energy needs. I would like to put before you logical reasons why it would be
unwise for South Africas leaders to consider this route.
We have been blessed with a country that spills natural beauty from each corner.
The issue of nuclear energy in South Africa is a delicate one, but the fact that a
new plant would be destructive to our country is unequivocally true.
Nuclear energy produces radioactive waste which is terribly hazardous to
surrounding communities and is difficult to manage. Such waste can leak
radiation for tens of years and can have many disastrous effects for generations
to come. The aftereffects of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still seen in genetics
today and can lead to diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and fatigue with many babies
being born with birth defects. This waste can also contaminate sand and water,
leading to dangerous consequences. It has a major impact on aquatic life too and
eutropication can cause environmental harm that could take up to ten throusand
years to repair.
Another issue is the high possibility of nuclear accidents. While technologies are
available to help prevent these incidents, incidents like Chernobyl and most
recently, Fukushima, tell us that even in todays society and with modern
engineering, complete safety is not guaranteed. We should learn from these past
mistakes so that history does not repeat itself.
A very practical disadvantage of nuclear power plants is the high cost. It costs an
immense amount to set up a nuclear plant and a similarly large amount to
decommission them. Continents that have previously set up plants had the

economic strength to do so. The creation of a nuclear plant takes approximately

5-10 years until complete operation can commence. While Russia, France, South
Korea and China, our country simply and frankly put, does not have the funds,
economic stability or infrastructure to accomplish this.
Decommissioning is an important factor to consider early on as nuclear plans
utilizes uranium and other fossil fuels which are a non-renewable resources.
Once depleted, these plants are of no use and take up land space that could be
used more constructively. Also, if we start to import uranium, this causes our
country to become dependent on other nations and lose our sense of power and
independence.
An underlying disadvantage that not many people consider is the national risk
that nuclear plants impose on a country. Countries that possess nuclear power
become targeted by militants and terrorist organizations. These plants also give
us the power to create harmful weaponry. In todays world full of hatred and
violence, we should be striving towards a community of peace and love for our
children to experience in the future. And rid this planet of all things associated
with harm and danger.
World statistics show that the obtaining of energy through nuclear power has
dropped significantly, approximately 3,6% within the past fourteen years so it
makes little sense to invest large portions of money into a field of energy
production that is fizzling out due to the plethora of negative aspects that it
brings with it. We should not be investing in a somewhat dying sector due to the
many disadvantages. New technology is arising all the time and adding a nuclear
power plant only sets our country back technologically. We should rather be
investing this money into research that could utilize natural and renewable
resources such as wind and solar power.
We should not be implementing projects that contradict the idea of sustainability.
The world is moving towards a greener life and we should be joining the journey
towards more environmentally friendly projects. Instead of looking at the shortterm benefits, we need to be wise and analyse the long-term disastrous effects
of introducing nuclear energy into SA.
Friends, our country is in our hands. Let us not make the mistakes of past
generations. Our world is in a fragile state and every bad decision has farreaching effects. Make the right choice.