Recomissioning the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

Gerry Mark S. Gubantes        2013-33630                                                        U-6R

The Need for Nuclear Energy:

Recommissioning the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

        The advancement of human life has been centered in the utilization of sources of energy to survive. At first, it was the ability to use fire. Then, people began to harness energy from wind, water and the burning of fossil fuels (Bodansky, 2004). Access to energy has been a basic need in fulfilling daily tasks due to its effect on productivity, health, education, food and communication services (Gaye, 2007). However, the energy resources were not enough to meet the demands of a growing population. So the search for energy sustainability continued until about the discovery of nuclear energy. Since its discovery in the middle of 20th century, nuclear energy has been exploited for large scale energy production to provide for modern life (Bodansky, 2004).

        Nuclear energy originated in the discovery of radioactive elements. Radioactivity was first studied by Henri Becquerel in 1896 while working with phosphorescence, substances that would glow in the dark after some exposure to light. However, when uranium salts were used, Becquerel discovered that uranium salts were not phosphorescent because it would emit radiation spontaneously even without prior exposure to light (Mould, 1995). In 1898, Marie Curie discovered the first radioactive elements since uranium: polonium, named after Curie’s homeland Poland, and radium. In 1911, experiments conducted by Ernest Rutherford pointed out that there was an enormous amount of heat produced in the radioactive decay of radium compared to any chemical reaction that can only be generated through the disintegration of an atom. Since nuclear energy released tremendous amount of energy, it was of high importance to scientists at that time due to the possibilities of its application (Bodansky, 2004).

        However, harnessing its energy was impractical because most radioactive elements were short-lived by nature. Still, scientists remain hopeful of formulating a mechanism to harness its energy. Finally, in the 1930s, this all changed in the discovery of nuclear fission (Thirring, 1958).

        In 1932, James Chadwick discovered neutron, along with proton comprise the nucleus of an atom. Neutron, unlike proton, lack an electric charge so it was immediately deemed as a potential tool in nuclear experimentation. In 1934, Frederic and Irene Joliet-Curie conducted experiments in the bombardment of an atom using neutrons for inducing radioactivity. In that same year, Enrico Fermi demonstrated that using slow neutrons increased the induction of radioactivity which led to the discovery of transuranium elements (elements heavier than uranium). Meanwhile in 1938, experiments conducted by Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassmann, Lise Meitner and Otto Robert Frisch showed that not only does the use of neutrons to bombard materials induced radioactivity; it would even split the nucleus of uranium into two equal parts. Thus, the term “fission” in reference to biology was coined. Furthermore, Leo Szilard had already theoretically conceived in 1933 that fission reactions would release additional neutrons, eventually, resulting in a controlled nuclear chain reaction. Once the potential was finally realized, several countries sought to implore the development of nuclear energy; although initially, it was for the development of nuclear weapon (Thirring, 1958; Lanouette & Silard, 1992).

        The USSR’s Obininsk power plant was the world’s first nuclear power plant producing 5 megawatts (MW) of electricity in 1954. Then in 1956, Calder Hall, world’s first commercial nuclear power plant, was opened in Windscale, England with a capacity of 50 MW. Meanwhile in 1957, the Shippingport Reactor, first commercial nuclear generator in the United States, was opened in Pennsylvania. In that same year, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC), or Euratom, were created to oversee the development of nuclear energy (Kragh, 1999; Bodansky, 2004).

        The development of nuclear energy progressed further when in 1973, members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), plus Egypt, Syria and Tunisia, announced an oil embargo to the United States and its allies due to severed geopolitical ties. This situation, however, turned greatly its favor on nuclear energy. Several countries like Japan and France were forced to invest in nuclear energy due to their heavy reliance on oil for power generation. Subsequently, the production of nuclear power plants grew by 18% globally in 1970s, but then slowed in 1980s after the 1979 Three Mile Island Accident and 1986 Chernobyl disaster (Bodansky, 2004).

        Still, nuclear energy remain very important today for power generation. As of 2012, nuclear energy generates 5.7% of the world’s energy and 13% of the world’s electricity (IAEA, 2012). Currently, there are 437 operating nuclear power plants in 31 countries. Moreover, construction of 68 commercial nuclear power plants are ongoing in 15 countries, 28 of them in People’s Republic of China. In addition, the United States generates the most nuclear energy, 19% of its total energy consumption. Meanwhile in the European Union (EU), 30% of its electricity is provided by nuclear energy (IAEA, 2013).

        On the other hand, Cadenas (2012) states that cities with nuclear power plants tend to have a cleaner environment. Bodansky (2004) also states that there is a positive correlation between the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country and its usage to nuclear energy. Here, the country could have benefited from those effects through its own nuclear power plant if it were not for political reasons. Aiming to provide energy for modernity through nuclear energy, the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, aborted with the involvement of political foreplays, should be recommissioned, with the need of public awareness on its importance and prior hazard and risk assessment, to solve the energy crisis for 2015, reduce the general cost of electricity, provide good environmental benefits such as the reduction of greenhouse gasses and land habitat preservation, and eliminate dependence on fossil fuels.

        The 621-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) was built starting with the commissioning of the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) under the Republic Act 2067 to address the oil crisis of 1973 during the Marcos administration. The plant is to produce electricity for nationwide consumption. The nuclear power plant is located at Morong, Bataan, 100 km west of Manila, and its construction was headed by Westinghouse, a US-based nuclear company, which lasted almost 9 years from 1976 to 1984. (Lee & Jeff So, 1999; Dumaine, 1986).