Reaction Paper

(Educational Tour)

Asnaipa, Baniamen M.
BSIT-31A3
We leave school at 6am and we arrived at Napot Point, Morong, Bataan.It is the only erected

commercial nuclear power station within the ASEAN countries to look and learn what is inside

of it.

The BNPP is shrouded with political, economic, environmental, sociological, cultural, and

regional and international issues, but, first and foremost, this is a travel blog, so discussions of

these concerns are reserved for another venue. The feeling of getting inside the fence was

exhilarating for a first-timer like me. After all, it was off limits to ordinary people for more than

two decades. I would have wanted to kiss the ground, but that was overkill. Anyway, as we drew

near the entrance, (which is more like a backdoor to me) the other visitors got even more excited

(like me!). Aside from the ooohs and ahhhs and chuckles along the way, everyone was behaved.

So, on we proceeded to the fenced and supposedly heavily guarded compound. Back in the day,

there were already metal weapon scanners/ detectors installed, but these are now considered

ancient, thus not operational. Perhaps, NPC should upgrade those metal detectors and not allow

bags inside or at least inspect bags inside the plant for security reasons. After all, this piece of

property still needs to be closely guarded. Thus, I would like to tackle it first the way a curious,

hungry and un-involved mind would be to know better how on earth does a nuclear power plant

look like from the outside, what is inside of this white mammoth project, and what kind of

animal is a nuclear reactor? Yes, something likes seeing for me what I read in textbooks and what

I see in Discovery Channel. After the lecture, we were led to the grounds for photo-ops. Now I

understand why it is best to take your souvenir photo before going inside the mammoth plant you

will also know later, of course. Before the plant tour, however, we were reminded not to take

photos inside. After friendly negotiations, however, we were allowed to take photos but we were

discouraged not to use it to put the NPC and BNPP, and the whole nuclear power concept in a
bad light. So now, I am doing them a favor. I am making them more popular with this post.

Who knows? They might eventually become a tourist attraction as what has been suggested by

the Department of Tourism. The plant tour started with a short lecture by National Power

Corporation (NPC) officials--who manages the BNPP, how it operates, why is it different from

the Fukushima nuclear power plant, what safety measures have been undertaken after the

Chernobyl nuclear meltdown, how a uranium looks like, why it is safer (according to NPC) to

operate the BNPP compared to fossil-based extraction or hydro-electric power plant, etc. It was

purely educational and expository in nature. Thank God, no heated arguments have taken place

between the participants and the NPC officials, as everyone seems to be more excited to get

inside the plant. After that we go in the inside of the nuclear plant, our first stop was the water

pumping section where the plant pumps water in and out of the plant. Water is pumped into the

nuclear reactor to produce steam, which then produces heat energy and converted into electricity.

More than a hundred thousand liters of sea water need to be pumped into the reactor. Second

Stopped, Electrical Section. We were led to a narrow corridor, leading to a flight of metal

staircase that brought us to this section where they control the electrical supply for the entire

plant. Again, this looks like sci-fi movie set with all those metal control boxes. It is like inside a

big room with a row of huge circuit breaker panels. We were led to a maze of corridors that lead

to a hollow section just outside the cooling tower. Now this leads me to think in case of

emergency. One who is working inside the plant should know the passageways and exits by

heart because one can easily get lost inside! According to the Engineer guide, the wall encasing

the reactor is 1 meter thick of high grade concrete and reinforcement bars, has a few inches gap

between the main structures, and is padded with foam as protection from earthquake. No plane

the size of Boeing 747 can also break through the wall and it can withstand an earthquake with a
magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter scale. The location of the plant is also safe from tsunami as it is

already high at 18 [or is it 30 as I read somewhere?] meters above sea level, which is definitely

much higher than the Fukushima plant. Except for the reactor itself, a nuclear power station

works like most coal or gas-fired power stations. Second about the Thermal Power Plant is

a power plant in which the prime mover is steam driven.

Third Stopped, Control Room. This is the brain of the entire plant. It is equipped with a

control panel of gauges, monitors, knobs, keys and buttons that only trained people can

manipulate. For this entire section, only three (3) technical people are authorized during the

operation. If other personnel (even officials) and visitors would want to look into or inspect the

control room, they are not also authorized to go beyond the viewing room which has a one-way

bullet-proof mirror. Again, this is one of the security measures they installed after the Chernobyl

accident. Apparently, even unauthorized personnel were allowed inside the control room of the

Chernobyl plant, which caused further confusion and added problems during the meltdown.

Fourth Stopped, Power Generator section. This is where all the steam and heat energy is

converted into electricity which is stored and is connected to cables for distribution. Going up

here, though requires one to go climb several flights of narrow steel staircase. This is a big space

enough to play basketball or badminton, or perhaps, an exhibit area if the plant is converted into

a museum and art space. To make nuclear fuel from the uranium ore requires first for the

uranium to be extracted from the rock in which it is found, then enriched in the uranium-235

isotope, before being made into pellets that are loaded into the nuclear fuel assembly. Fifth, is the

history of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant BNPP was constructed at the cost of $2 billion during the

martial law years. After Cory Aquino ascended to the presidency, it was abandoned for various

reasons. Up to the present, it remains inoperable and appears to be rotting to inutility.In August
1973, barely a year after martial law was declared, President Ferdinand Marcos instructed the

National Power Corporation (NPC) to pursue, supervise and undertake the construction and the

eventual operation of the nuclear power plant in Morong, Bataan. On April 24, 1974,

Westinghouse sent Marcos, through Disini, a letter containing its turnkey proposal. Upon receipt

of the letter and without public bidding, Marcos informed NPC of his preference for

Westinghouse. In a Cabinet meeting on June 6, 1974, Marcos categorically stated his choice of

Westinghouse and authorized NPC General Manager Ramon Ravanzo to sign a letter of

commitment to Westinghouse for the supply and construction of two 626-megawatt nuclear

power plants. The contract was signed 35 yearsl ago on Feb. 9, 1976. Criminal charges. A

decade later, after Cory Aquino took over Malacaang, the Presidential Commission on Good

Government (PCGG) charged Disini and others with violations of our criminal laws. After

another decade, on May 31, 1997, then Ombudsman Aniano Desierto dismissed the charges for

lack of prima facie evidence. Ironically, in an action brought by the Philippines against

Westinghouse, the District Court of New Jersey USA after evaluating the same evidence

submitted to Desierto ruled on Sept. 19, 1991 that there was sufficient evidence of bribery.

The PCGG haled Desierto on certiorari to the Supreme Court PCGG v. Desierto, which on Feb.

10, 2003 directed the Office of the Ombudsman to file in the proper court the appropriate

criminal charges. And lastly the safety From the outset, there has been a strong awareness of the

potential hazard of both nuclear criticality and release of radioactive materials from generating

electricity with nuclear power.

As in other industries, the design and operation of nuclear power plants aims to minimise the

likelihood of accidents, and avoid major human consequences when they occur.
There have been three major reactor accidents in the history of civil nuclear power Three Mile

Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. One was contained without harm to anyone, the next involved

an intense fire without provision for containment, and the third severely tested the containment,

allowing some release of radioactivity.

Getting inside the plant is one beautiful educational experience especially among students who

would want to learn more about nuclear energy. The National Power Corporation has opened

this nuclear energy facility for public awareness and social marketing, which it did not have

during the construction phase. With billions of dollars in budget, I wonder why there was no PR

done or community relations done on this project. Although it is not too late, NPC hopes to

educate and inform the people what the BNPP looks like, how it operates and how it will benefit

the country in its bid for industrialization.