CANE - Coalition Against Nuclear Energy South Africa

NNR CAN’T COPE WITH NUCLEAR?

By Dominique Gilbert

The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) of South Africa will not be able to cope with the government’s proposed nuclear programme. In a meeting of the Minerals and Energy Portfolio Committee on 21 November, the NNR admitted it is completely understaffed and overwhelmed by the government’s proposed nuclear energy plan.

Problems the NNR faces include the finding of improprieties in Eskom and the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) Company “in respect of Manufacturing of Components Important to Safety by PBMR”. This led to the suspension of licensing of the PBMR last year.

The NNR stated it was also still waiting for the safety report of the planned nuclear fuel plant at Pelindaba - despite the fact that Necsa has already begun “experimenting” and manufacturing nuclear pebbles for the PBMR.

The NNR also stated that it worked with Necsa for a long time to deal with security issues and despite this there was a breach of security at Pelindaba where a computer and the operations room control panel were targeted. Necsa’s briefing to Parliament stated that it was dealing with security issues, but that it does not have sufficient funding for maintenance.

According to the NNR there were up to fifty three “contaminated sites” in South Africa. They were “discontinuing” proposed rehabilitation of four sites in the Karoo that were “contaminated …with radiological hazard to members of public and to future generations” because the DME had issued uranium prospecting permits to new companies in that region.

For the first time the NNR declared research they had been doing into nuclear insurances and third party liabilities. The Pelindaba Working Group had a year-long battle with NECSA CEO Rob Adam requesting this information. These requests were referred to his lawyers, the PAIA etc – and the question was never answered. These questions are vital as to who would pay compensation for radiation accidents or waste contamination and amounts of money that would be paid.

Several mines have been closed for nuking workers and non-compliance. They claim a reduction of nuked worker figures, but do not mention that this is due to the fact that in those years uranium mining had virtually stopped. During the late 1990s official figures revealed thousands of miners had been nuked.

The NNR’s report also revealed the impounding of a ship carrying uranium that had docked without authorisation in Durban. There were also alarming statistics of radioactive waste piling up at Pelindaba and Koeberg - where it is also being poured into the Atlantic Ocean. Similar details are conspicuously missing from their report on Pelindaba where Necsa is known to pour radioactive waste into the Crocodile River.

The NNR said there had been inadequate compliance with maintenance procedures and “operating technical specifications” at Koeberg. There were also problems with incompetence and “sufficiency” of Eskom’s workforce to work safely. They mentioned the “suspected loss of a small quantity” of Highly Enriched Uranium at a building at Pelindaba where activities were suspended and a reactor was forced to shut down “until conditions for return to power were met”.

The NNR has come under great scrutiny for many years for its allegiance to the nuclear industry, falling as it does under Minerals and Energy and not Environmental Affairs and more recently because of its inept and denialist handling of the far-reaching radioactive pollution of the West Rand’s water supplies from 120 years of mining despite repeated warnings over decades. (Already genetically deformed children are being found there and toxicity of the water supply is now spreading throughout the Cradle World Heritage Site). Even this massive disaster is minimised. The NNR’s report amounts to a cry for help, despite the usual conciliatory conclusions.

Dominique Gilbert

PELINDABA WORKING GROUP

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