26 September 2017

Visiting International Anti-Nuke Activists Warn About Failed Nuclear Power Experiment Coming to Africa

Submitted by: NATASHA
Visiting International Anti-Nuke Activists Warn About Failed Nuclear Power Experiment Coming to Africa

“Don’t let South Africa become the dumping ground for the remnants of the failed nuclear energy experiment!” That was the message from international anti-nuclear activists touring the country during September 2017, as part of a national awareness campaign, Don’t Nuke the Climate – hosted by Earthlife-Africa Johannesburg (ELA-JHB) and the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI).

Seasoned activists, Chris Williams from the United States and Vladimir Slivyak from Russia – who have more than five decades of anti-nuclear activism between them – focussed their attentions on two of the core issues influencing the developed world’s move away from nuclear energy. This includes nuclear’s exorbitant price tag, which continues to rise years after decommissioning and also the unprecedented radioactive waste storage problem that nuclear countries continue to struggle with. Both Williams and Slivyak urged local activists to guard against Africa becoming the dumping ground for what can be called a failed energy experiment of nuclear energy technology, which is losing its appeal everywhere else in the world.

“Two plants in the U.S. have abandoned construction, due to excessive cost overruns, as a result of unprecedented construction delays with new nuclear builds. France has reduced their number of reactors by 50 percent, without any planned replacements and the country is also experiencing problems with their plant under construction in Finland, due to inflated costs,” says Williams.

According to Slivyak, even Russia has big plans to decommission reactors over the next fifteen years, with no matching plans for replacement. He adds that it is significant to note that China, who initially seemed to be going full-steam with nuclear energy, has since slowed down its efforts and are now investing far much more in RE, since recognising its impact as a valuable poverty alleviation measure.

Liz McDaid, SAFCEI’s energy expert says, “According to these international activists, over the last 50 years, nuclear is basically a failed energy experiment. As they pointed out, if it had been a success, we would see a lot more future plans for new nuclear reactors. But in fact, what is reported is that France, U.S. and Russia (who have been the nuclear powers), are now looking at alternative energy, and particularly at renewables, rather than build more reactors.”

“It then raises the question, why is South Africa pushing ahead with what is now an old technology? It looks like this is another case of old technology being dumped on an unsuspecting Africa, and this is something that civil society and all South Africans should resist emphatically,” continues McDaid.

The financial woes of two of the industry’s heavy hitters, provides further evidence that the nuclear industry is fighting a losing battle. Westinghouse in the U.S. filed for bankruptcy, while Toshiba (the mother company) sold-off part of its operations, to survive.

Issued by Natasha Adonis, on behalf of #StopCorruptNuclearSA. For more information, contact Natasha on 0797-999-654 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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