Scientists, Environmentalists Protest In Front of Congress, Denounced Revival of BNPP

Scientists and environmental activists picketed in front of the House of Representatives this morning to denounce plans of reviving the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). The protesters brought an effigy of a coffin to symbolize their contention that the BNPP is long dead and should be permanently put to the grave.

The bill seeking the plant’s rehabilitation is spearheaded by Rep. Mark Cojuangco, son of businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, and Rep. Mikey Arroyo. The legislators, along with Korean company KEPCO have tagged the rehabilitation of BNPP to cost around $1 billon.

“This is anomalous. A nuclear project, judged before as defective and corrupt, is being propped up again as a safe and reliable energy source by big-time politicians and wealthy families in the country. This would be another milking cow for traditional politicians and corrupt government officials in Malacañang,” warned Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of environmental activist group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment..

A project by former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the BNPP construction started in 1976 but was stopped in 1979 due to concerns of safety. An independent inquiry showed that the BNPP has over 4,000 defects, rendering it unsafe and dangerous to operate.

“We cannot imagine how the new proponents can make the BNPP safe. Its technology is almost obsolete. The plant lies on Mt. Natib, a volcano, and is also near major fault lines making it susceptible to earthquakes and other seismic activities. At the same time, nuclear power is an extremely dangerous technology, producing volumes of toxic and radioactive wastes, not to mention vulnerable to terrorist attacks,” added Mr. Bautista.

The Philippine Climate Watch Alliance (PCWA) meanwhile contested the idea of reviving the plant to address climate change.

“BNPP’s revival, being packaged by the Arroyo government as solution to climate change, is ridiculous. A nuclear power plant employs energy-intensive and fossil-dependent industries such as uranium mining, construction and decommissioning of nuke facilities, processing, transport and storage of radioactive wastes, all of which involves carbon emission,” explained Meggie Nolasco, spokeperson of PCWA. “It would take thousands of mega nuclear plants to make a dent on global carbon emission reduction levels,” adds Nolasco.

According to a 2002 report by Arjun Makhijani of the US-based Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), to produce a noticeable reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions, it would be necessary to build approximately 2,000 large new nuclear reactors each with 1,000-megawatt capacity. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change outlines a scenario whereby 3,000 nuclear reactors would be needed by the year 2100.

“Rep. Cojuangco wants us to believe that an energy crisis in 2012 necessitates the revival of BNPP. The same reason was used by Pres. Marcos when he justified the construction of BNPP during the oil crisis in 1973. Even if it is true, the Bataan nuke is not the apt solution to the country’s energy problems,” said Dr. Giovanni Tapang, chairperson of progressive scientists group AGHAM.

“There is no question of the need to be energy independent. We can do that by harnessing our indigenous and sustainable energy resources such as hydro, geothermal, solar, wind, natural gas and oil to provide for the country’s needs. But as long as the Arroyo government continues to auction and privatize our energy facilities and resources to private and foreign companies, like what they are doing with BNPP and other power plants, the problem on energy will remain,” concluded Tapang.

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