Activist estate agent not sold on Koeberg nuclear power station

ANTI-NUKE activist Geoffrey Seeff imagined a heady 21st century future – the year 2019, in fact – when he mused anxiously on the likely safety of the Koeberg power station: “Can anyone really believe it will operate for 40 years without one single mistake being made?”

The estate agent was, at the time – June, 1979 – at the forefront of efforts to scupper plans for the nuclear plant, warning Cape Town of the dire consequences of a disaster at Koeberg.

Here is that news report.

Experts have admitted a major disaster at the Koeberg nuclear power station could result in 6 000 deaths, the contamination of an area 200km downwind and the evacuation of this area for 30 years, according to the organisers of a public meeting in Cape Town tomorrow to urge a rethink.

The meeting, which is being organised by Cape Town estate agent Mr Geoffrey Seeff and others worried about the potential danger of Koeberg, will be held at the Holiday Inn, Woodstock at 5.30pm.

The discussion will centre on what action can be taken to persuade the authorities to move or delay the project.

Mr Seeff said in an interview today that he hoped influential groups would join together in protesting to the appropriate authorities against building a nuclear power station so near to Cape Town.

He would ask the Property Owners’ Association to ask the authorities not to issue an operating licence for Koeberg until there was further research into the possible danger to health from the power station, and its effect on property values.

Mr Seeff said Escom admitted that the power station could not be 100% safe and that a disaster could kill 6 000 people.

They admitted that a major disaster would result in the complete loss of the economy of the Western Cape.

Mr Seeff said he was also worried about a possible radiation leak which might be concealed so as not to cause panic.

Mr Seeff said that, even if Koeberg operated with perfect safety for the 40 years of its life, its mere presence might cause property values to fall and dis- courage industrialists.

“I accept that this will probably be the safest nuclear power station in the world,” he said, “but can anyone really believe that it will operate for 40 years without one single mistake being made?

“I understand that there is no major coal-fired power station which has operated for more than three years without one single accident – and a coal-fired station is far simpler to operate than a nuclear one.”