Nuclear energy

According to a report published in this newspaper on Wednesday the government signed the country’s largest-ever credit deal worth $11.38 billion with Russia for construction of the 2,400 MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna. Nuclear energy must be used in Bangladesh to ensure mass production of low cost electricity. The government has been saying for quite some time now that the country’s solution to the perennial problem of energy crisis is through nuclear power production.
Safety factor is crucial regarding nuclear energy. Nuclear power plants are usually built in remote, sparsely populated areas to ensure that accidental discharges in the form of solid, liquid and gas do not expose surrounding population to high doses of radiation. In densely populated Bangladesh such areas are at a premium and Rooppur where Bangladesh’s only nuclear power plant would be built is landlocked and there are large concentrations of people all around.  
Even in developed countries where the power plants are located in isolated areas there have been catastrophic accidents of which Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1985 is but one example. Exposure to radiation particle resulted from such accidents cause cancers and deformities through generations. So the issue of safety can’t be overemphasised. It needs to be mentioned here that Chernobyl disaster happened because of human mistakes and not because of the reactor’s fault.
However, there is little to doubt that nuclear energy is clean, economical and efficient. Unlike plants based on fossil fuels which spew tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, nuclear power plants don't produce noxious fumes. Nuclear power is considered carbon-free and produces more electricity than other renewables like solar and wind. Nuclear power plants produce far more energy than coal, wind or solar for less cost– a significant factor for Bangladesh where bulk of the foreign exchange is spent to import oil. Nuclear waste can be recycled and reprocessed. An extensive disaster management system must be designed before the NPP operation starts. Since we do not have proper infrastructure to give advanced warnings of earthquakes or tsunamis and have limited resources for making quick evacuations, any of the natural calamity will not only harm the residents but the nuclear reactor as well.
We believe that if the necessary safety issue is dealt with, nuclear energy can prove to be an effective alternative to conventional sources of power generation.

Nuclear energy

According to a report published in this newspaper on Wednesday the government signed the countrys largest-ever credit deal worth $11.38 billion with Russia for construction of the 2,400 MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna. Nuclear energy must be used in Bangladesh to ensure mass production of low cost electricity. The government has been saying for quite some time now that the countrys solution to the perennial problem of energy crisis is through nuclear power production. Safety factor is crucial regarding nuclear energy. Nuclear power plants are usually built in remote, sparsely populated areas to ensure that accidental discharges in the form of solid, liquid and gas do not expose surrounding population to high doses of radiation. In densely populated Bangladesh such areas are at a premium and Rooppur where Bangladeshs only nuclear power plant would be built is landlocked and there are large concentrations of people all around. Even in developed countries where the power plants are located in isolated areas there have been catastrophic accidents of which Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1985 is but one example. Exposure to radiation particle resulted from such accidents cause cancers and deformities through generations. So the issue of safety cant be overemphasised. It needs to be mentioned here that Chernobyl disaster happened because of human mistakes and not because of the reactors fault. However, there is little to doubt that nuclear energy is clean, economical and efficient. Unlike plants based on fossil fuels which spew tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, nuclear power plants dont produce noxious fumes. Nuclear power is considered carbon-free and produces more electricity than other renewables like solar and wind. Nuclear power plants produce far more energy than coal, wind or solar for less cost a significant factor for Bangladesh where bulk of the foreign exchange is spent to import oil. Nuclear waste can be recycled and reprocessed. An extensive disaster management system must be designed before the NPP operation starts. Since we do not have proper infrastructure to give advanced warnings of earthquakes or tsunamis and have limited resources for making quick evacuations, any of the natural calamity will not only harm the residents but the nuclear reactor as well. We believe that if the necessary safety issue is dealt with, nuclear energy can prove to be an effective alternative to conventional sources of power generation.