DoST conducts study on ‘revisiting’ possible use of nuclear power
Monday, March 12, 2007
By MADEL SABATER
With the need to use technologies that would help reduce the adverse effects of global warming, the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) is looking at "revisiting" the possible use of nuclear power in the future.
In an interview with the Manila Bulletin, Science and Technology Secretary Estrella Alabastro said "now is the time to revisit nuclear power," considering the "unequivocal" effects of global warming caused by human activities, including the use of coal power plants.
Based on research, nuclear power is generated with the use of uranium. It produces "around 11 percent of the world’s energy needs, and produces huge amounts of energy from small amounts of fuel, without the pollution (usually acquired) from burning fossil fuels."
It does not produce smoke or carbon dioxide, so it does not contribute to the greenhouse effect. It also produces small amounts of waste.
Alabastro said, however, that if the country reexamines the possibility of nuclear power, the most critical factor that should be addressed is the human resources.
"Lahat kasi ng mga nuclear engineers natin, nagretire na, wala na halos (most of our nuclear engineers have already retired. We’re losing human resources in this field)," she lamented.
Alabastro’s suggestion on revisiting nuclear power came after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, prepared by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), revealed that global warming caused by human activities is "equivocal" as the global mean temperature had increased to t 0.74 degrees Celsius from 1906 to 2005 from the estimate of 0.60 degrees Celsius in 2001.
The IPCC report, released last February, also confirmed that the marked increase in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide since 1750 "is the result of human activities."
The report revealed that if concentrations of greenhouse gases double, compared to pre-industrial levels, it will "likely" cause an average warming of three degrees Celsius, adding that if the greenhouse gas level reaches 650 parts per million (ppm), it would likely warm global climate by 3.6 degrees Celsius.
At 750 ppm, the warming could reach 4.3 degrees Celsius; at 1,000 ppm, 5.5 degrees Celsius; and at 1,200 ppm, 6.3 degrees Celsius.
President Arroyo has ordered the formation of a task force on global warming, which will be headed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), with the DoST and the Department of Energy (DoE) as among the members.
Earlier, former DoE Secretary Francisco Viray said the country must prepare for the advent of nuclear power as a source of energy in the future.
He said that based on the DoE’s 35-year plan, the country "might have to look at nuclear energy as a source of power" in 2025.
"We need to prepare the electricity sector. The science and technology (S & T) community (should) spearhead preparing for the advent of nuclear energy in the country," he said, adding, "there is still enough time."
Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI DOST) executive director Dr. Alumanda de la Rosa also said nuclear power "has a very good chance of coming back and becoming part of the energy mix not only in the Philippines but (in) other countries as well" due to the rising cost of fossil fuels and their environmental effects.
posted by philpower @ 8:46 AM,
