Bypassing regulations? Court stays work on nuclear power plant, says environment rules not followed
The Sindh High Court (SHC) stayed on Thursday the commencement of work on two nuclear power plants, K-II and K-III, as they have yet to obtain approval from the Environment Protection Agency (EPA).
The division bench, headed by the Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar, granted the temporary stay order on a petition filed by a group of four citizens - filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, physicist Dr Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy, physicist Dr Abdul Hameed Nayyar and architect Arif Belgaumi. The petitioners cited the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority, the federal and the provincial environmental protection agencies as respondents for failing to obtain the necessary environmental checks.
On Thursday, the bench issued notices to the respondents to file their comments by the next date of hearing. The deputy attorney general and the provincial advocate general were also told to file the comments of the authorities.
Capacity enhancement programme
The petitioners, who were represented by Advocates Abdul Sattar Pirzada and Ghulam Shabbir Shah, said the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission has recently started preparing sites for the two large nuclear power plants, adjacent to the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (Kanupp). The subsequent plans for two further nuclear power plants, namely K-IV and K-V, are also presently under consideration. According to the atomic energy commission, each power plant will produce approximately 1,100 megawatts of power, while Kanupp (also known as K-1) will be decommissioned and its fuel will remain within the K-1 premises.
Reactors
The lawyers said that the reactors have reportedly been designed and will be built by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and will be based on a design known as ACP-1000. The petitioners pointed out that, even in China, there is no operating ACP-1000 reactor nor is one scheduled to be built.
Thus, the ACP-1000 reactor, so far exists only on paper or on computer. Any real-time experience, tests and trials that CNNC gets on the ACP-1000 design will be from operating the K-II and K-III reactors in Karachi, they added.
Environmental impact
Under Section 12 of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (Pepa), 1997, no proponent of a project shall commence construction or operation unless he has filed an initial environmental examination with the provincial EPA or, where the project is likely to cause adverse environmental effects, an environmental impact assessment and has obtained approval from the EPA. As per the rules, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is mandatory prior to the construction of a nuclear power plant.
The petitioners claimed that the EIA filed by the atomic energy commission with the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency and the then provincial environmental protection agency was in gross violation of Section 12(3) of Pepa 1997. The review of the EIA was carried out without inviting public participation and the relevant information was kept secret from the public at large in a highly surreptitious manner, they claimed.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 17th, 2014.
COMMENTS (12)
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@Mr. Rasheed, ACP1000 nuclear reactors are the advanced version of AP1000 Westinghouse, The AP1000 PWR is the safest and most economical nuclear power plant available in the worldwide commercial marketplace. Off course before handing over them to Pakistan, it will be tested several times and the Pakistani commission will also make sure the testing before the operationalizing. It can resist the natural disaster like Tsunami and earthquake. Besides it has double containment and disaster management safety options, small incidents like one you are mentioning are not going to destroy the nuclear plants, as they also happen in the U.S., France, UK, Russia, Canada, India and China even some are worst if they are not properly updated like in Japan. However, Pakistan has an excellent track record of safety and security.
There are always few people in the society that work against the social development, following some agenda. Petition that has been hearing in court is also relevant to this dilemma, Hoodbhoy has never worked in the nuclear power plant in his whole life or even in a laboratory but still he is pursuing an agenda of not letting other people work. PAEC has a capable experienced team that is running nuclear power plants for several years; they know better how to operate and have the capability of running larger nuclear power plants.
@Jaitley - First put forward an evacuation plan for 18m people living in Karachi, then you can go ahead with the Nuclear plant construction.
Samar Jee. Just reply thethat simple question, has APC1000 reactor been tested anywhere in the world? Mr Shuja, do you think any accident in our nuclear industry be reported in the media? See BBC report how ISI landed in a hotel of Mianwali when a BBC reporter went there to know why fish died mysteriously in Chashma canal. I dont think there is any industry where technical faults do not occur.
A team of reporters saw a big mouse on the machine where workers are supposed to place their hands to check any amount of dose of radiation after they end their duty on the inaugural day of Chashnupp-1 in Kundian. PM Benazir Bhutto was scheduled to inaugurate it but due to bad weather, her plance could not come and PAEC chief Ashfaq A Khan performed the ceremony.
The PAEC media person, perhaps Imtiaz, literrally begged mediapeople not to mention the rat in their reports. If that is the state of small incidents, one cannot expect any big leak finding its way into media.
There was a workshop at National Center for Physics situated in QAU premises. Many questions about nuclear safety and prospects of final disposal of nuclear waste were raised. The PNRA, itself provided me material for the news coverage. But the pressure was mounted on me to withdraw the story from The News. Such is the level of nervousness of our nuclear Establishment. It is hard to know the complete truth.
Why do people create issues out of the blue? Fukushima had all the layers of safety that you talk about and all the decades of operation. It still failed because of unforseen difficulties. Its still spewing radiation. We need to shut these reactors all down and switch to solar wind geothermal and hydro.
In recent years, China and Pakistan do indeed carry out some joint projects related to civilian use of nuclear energy. These projects are for peaceful purpose only, in compliance with the international obligations shared by both countries, and they are subject to guarantee and monitor by international atomic energy organization. These all fears are baseless that Pakistan nuclear experts are stupid and endangering their population into a nuclear catastrophe.
Folks have started again to beat the old drums again. Reactors of the Karachi nuclear power project – K-2 and K-3 – are more safe and sophisticated than those of Fukushima. Nuclear revitalization would never ever be transpired if nuclear energy was unsafe. Nuclear energy is a clean, safe, reliable and competitive energy source. Unlike traditional sources of energy like solar and wind that require sun or wind to produce electricity, nuclear energy can be produced from nuclear power plants even in rough weather conditions. Nuclear power plants were responsible for nearly half of the total voluntary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Why people like to create issues out of the blue? The Karachi nuclear power plants are not the one man show. Two responsible nations China and Pakistan are involved to sort down the energy outrages. There is nothing unusual with ACP 1000 as it is based on Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). This term is used very frequently whenever nuclear power plants are mentioned. Whole world is getting benefits from PWR to generate nuclear power; why Pakistan is being questioned. Karachi nuclear power plants are not at all few and far between for any one.
Foremost thing about Pakistan is this that it is not nuclear obsessed country unlike others. Its national interests based on ‘political sovereignty & territorial integrity’; revolves around peoples’ security. This is a very reason that PAEC has done a full backdrop work before initialization of projects. PAEC is working on every aspect related to human security. K2 & K3 are not matter of few group of people. In fact, power generation will address the life of common citizens of Pakistan. It is categorically aimed to have for development and profess which can’t be achieved without energy.
Pakistan has engaged with nuclear from many decades and not a single incident occur which can be instrumental in avoiding nuclear. Country is in a dire need of energy and nuclear is the viable, economical and efficient mean to get independence over power sector of Pakistan. There is nothing NEW with KII & KIII nor the opposition being faced against them. The world is enjoying with nuclear from longer period of time than why to oppose if Pakistan goes in nuclear direction to generate energy.
The ACP1000 design for the new plant has several additional layers of safety that greatly diminish the probability of any accidental radioactivity release to the environment. PAEC has an enviable record of operation nuclear power plants for more than four decades without radioactivity releases that could be in any way be harmful to the environment, the general public, or even plant personnel. This has been done through technical excellence, thorough training, meticulous compliance with national and international safety standards, and according the highest priority to safety.
In the ACP1000 design for the new nuclear power plants to be built at Karachi, the reactor system itself is based on the PWR concept, which has been the workhorse of the nuclear industry in the past five decades. The ACP1000 design is a continuation of the development of the PWR concept in China, of which many are operational and under construction. It has many safety targets of the new generation of reactors and to incorporate the lessons learnt from the Fukushima Accident.