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No place for nuclear waste: Top Filipino scientist nixes nuke plant revival

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/10/01/bataan-nuclear-jc-21.jpg"/><figcaption>File photo of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - A leading Filipino scientist on Thursday opposed plans to revive the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), citing concerns of its hazardous by-product that will last thousands of years.</p><p>Dr. Fabian Dayrit, academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), stressed that disposing nuclear waste remained a challenge in other countries.</p><p>&quot;It may be a good source of energy but then how do you solve the nuclear waste problem?&quot; he told ANC&#x27;s &quot;Matters of Fact&quot;.</p><p>Dayrit, also the president of the Integrated Chemists of the Philippines, said the country could tap other sources of energy that are considered more sustainable.</p><p>&quot;In the Philippines, in addition to solar and wind, we also have tidal energy. Of course, geothermal energy is still there,&quot; he said.</p><p>Dayrit also cautioned the public about the cost of decommissioning a plant after they had been mothballed.</p><p>He cited Germany as an example where the costs of shutting down the plants were astronomical.</p><p>&quot;We have better options and options which will not commit future generations to managing nuclear waste for which up to now there&#x27;s no solution,&quot; he told ANC&#x27;s &quot;Matters of Fact&quot;.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/01/20/duterte-wants-bataan-folk-consulted-on-nuclear-plant-revival-says-roque">Duterte wants Bataan folk consulted on nuclear plant revival, says Roque</a></li></ul><p>This week, President Rodrigo Duterte instructed authorities to consult the residents of Bataan on the possible revival of the country&#x27;s mothballed nuclear power plant.</p><p>Built in the 1970s, the facility has remained shut since 1986, when it was supposed to have started operating, over concerns about its proximity to Mt. Natib, a dormant volcano.</p><p>The Philippines shelled out $2.3 billion on the 621-megawatt BNPP but decided not to operate it after the Chernobyl disaster and the collapse of dictator Ferdinand Marcos&#x27; rule.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R7Nrjmg1lOA?enablejsapi=1"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>A leading Filipino scientist on Thursday opposed plans to revive the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), citing concerns of its hazardous by-product that will last thousands of years.</p>

A leading Filipino scientist on Thursday opposed plans to revive the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), citing concerns of its hazardous by-product that will last thousands of years.