By figuring out fission, physicists were able to split uranium atoms and release massive amounts of energy. This Manhattan Project work paved the way both for atomic bombs and nuclear power reactors.
South African President Jacob Zuma’s efforts to promote his unpopular nuclear project are weakening him politically but he still seems keen to pursue it.
Nuclear industry players tout small modular reactors as an “inherently safe,” cost-effective source of electricity. The reality may be less attractive.
Eskom’s stand threatens the viability of the entire renewable energy sector in South Africa, something which plays into the hands of those pro coal and nuclear.
The South African government is not giving up on its push for a controversial nuclear power plan. But it’s chances of succeeding have been greatly reduced.
There are fears that that the nuclear build in South Africa is being driven for the benefit of the politically connected rather than the national good.
South Africa’s Parliamentary Budget Office had 10 months to prepare its findings about the cost of a nuclear programme. Its final report was little more than a summary of other institutions’ work.
The meltdown at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 exposed 572 million people to radiation. No other nuclear accident holds a candle to that level of public health impact.
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University