Letter of the Day | Nuclear power could provide significant benefits to Jamaica

THE EDITOR, Madam:

This letter is in response to Mr Trevor Noel Blair’s letter titled ‘Concerns about nuclear energy direction for Ja’ published in this news paper on June 8, 2023.

First, I would like to thank Mr Blair for his letter as it gives me the opportunity to clear up some misunderstandings that others might also have, as well as to share some additional facts. I would also like to add that while I’m an advocate for the consideration of adding nuclear power to Jamaica’s energy mix, I’m also an advocate for maximising the use of renewable energy sources. I’m an even greater advocate for the advancement of research into hybrid nuclear-renewable systems.

Nuclear power plants have been commercially operating from the 1950s. However, most of these reactors were too large for small countries like Jamaica to consider adding nuclear power to the energy mix. One of these large power plants could generate more electricity than the combined installed capacity of the Jamaica Public Service Ltd. The advancement of research and development of smaller nuclear power plants now make it possible for small countries to explore using nuclear power. These small modular reactors range anywhere from about 10 MW of electrical power (MWe) up 300 MWe. Now realistically, if Jamaica were to get its first nuclear power reactor, it would likely be in the range of 50-100 MWe so my arguments will be based on a nuclear power plant in this range. Also, the implementation of a nuclear power programme is not an overnight achievement. There are several steps that will have to be systematically followed, and if we should begin that process today, we wouldn’t have an operating nuclear power plant in Jamaica before approximately 10 years.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Decommissioning of a nuclear power plant and subsequent management of any associated nuclear/radioactive waste is something that is taken into consideration even before any permission is given to construct the power plant. A clearly outlined plan has to be presented to a regulator before any construction licences are issued. Once constructed and the plant starts to generate and transmit electricity to the grid, money is set aside from day one, from every dollar earned, which goes towards waste management and these plants have lifetimes in excess of 60 years. Whether or not the original suppliers of the reactors will be around after 60 years, there are other companies whose business is the management of nuclear radioactive waste so options will still be available. Also, no decommissioned nuclear power plant site is left radioactive. The whole objective of decommissioning is to remove all radioactive hazards from the site.

WATER USE

Nuclear power plants use water as the primary coolant to remove heat from the reactor core and also as secondary coolant to make steam in the process of generating electricity. The vast majority of this water is used as the secondary coolant and in once-through systems the water withdrawn from a water source, the ocean, for example, is returned to the source. Some newer designs of SMRs use up to 90 per cent less water, increasing the siting flexibility of these units. Furthermore, the use of cooling towers can reduce the amounts of water used by nuclear power plants and are more environmentally friendly.

RADIOACTIVE COOLANT

The coolant (water) that comes into contact with the fuel while it is in the reactor remains in a closed loop essentially for the life of the reactor with some amount of make-up water added periodically. The coolant is continuously purified to minimise the build-up of radioactivity. At the reactor’s end of life the coolant is treated to remove the radioactivity and then it is discharged under strict regulatory controls. So no, there will be no storage of radioactive coolant in some sort of storage pond waiting for a disaster to happen. There will also be a small amount of radioactivity present in the water used to cool the fuel assemblies after they’ve been removed from the reactor. This water, too, virtually remains for the life of the plant and is continuously purified.

The potential benefits that nuclear power could provide to Jamaica are significant. I wholeheartedly agree that due diligence needs to be done in this consideration and I have every confidence that it will be. I would like to reiterate that the road to implementing a nuclear power programme is not a short one. The Milestones Approach of the International Atomic Energy Agency suggests a 10-15-year timespan between the initial consideration and the operation of a country’s first nuclear power plant. I strongly believe that the time to start is now.

HAILE DENNIS

Reactor Manager SLOWPOKE-2

International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences