Nuke power a no-go in M’sia
PM: Radioactive waste hard to manage as we previously discovered
KUALA LUMPUR: The use of nuclear power as an alternative to generate electricity is a no-go, under the current administration.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia is against nuclear power being used to produce electricity as science has not been able to provide a safe way to dispose of the radioactive waste generated.
He said although nuclear plants are a cheap alternative to fossil fuels for producing electricity, they are still not safe.
“A lot of people wanted to have nuclear power when I stepped down but I am against it as it generates radiation.
“We produce tin and amang (tin tailings, which has heavy metals), a substance that was used to produce colour televisions. Later, people found other ways to produce colour TVs without using amang.
“Amang has to be activated to be useful but is radioactive.
“When companies no longer wanted it, we were left with activated amang residue,” he said in his keynote address at the Conference of the Electric Power Supply Industry (CEPSI 2018) event yesterday.
Also present were Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin and Tenaga Nasional Berhad chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie.
Dr Mahathir said the government then had to find measures to ensure the amang residue would not cause harm and it was then buried in a 1km square area under thick cement to contain any radiation leak.
“We lost a big piece of land because it was not safe for it to be used. So that was our experience with radioactive materials,” he added.
The Prime Minister said it taught the then administration that radioactive waste was not easily dis- posed of, adding that even science has not found a good way to manage such wastes.
“That is why we decided not to use nuclear power in Malaysia. That was the policy during my time as the fourth PM; it was not the policy for the fifth and sixth prime minister but now I am back,” he quipped.
Giving an example of Japan, Dr Mahathir said the country often faced problems with radiation during earthquakes.
He said that some people living in areas with nuclear plants do not go back due to the radiation.
Dr Mahathir also cited the Chernobyl disaster as an example.