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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

The Cold of Nuclear Security

10 November, 1998 - 00:00

The very term, nuclear security, leaves those who remember the spring of
1986 cold, when a planetary disaster was wrapped up in a mixture of rumors
and lies, which still affects people's trust in the authorities.

Yesterday the icy breezes were again felt. Nuclear sector workers called
a press-conference to publicly dispute the decision of the Administration
for Nuclear Regulation on shutting down the third power unit of Chornobyl
nuclear station for the regular repair. They argued that shutting down
any unit might lead to energy system disruption or massive power outages
for consumers.

Interestingly, with winter coming on, Energy Ministry officials resist
the decision by the state regulatory organ and ask people simple questions
like "Do you want your enterprise to shut down? Will you like living in
a house without light or heat?" However, they do not bother with the problem
of whether we want to live through another Chornobyl?

Are people ready to make a conscious and considered choice? The experts
say that the decision to repair the third unit (its capacity is 1% of the
overall capacity of Ukrainian nuclear power stations, that currently provide
40% of the country's electricity) should not have been brought to the non-nuclear
public or even to the government for consideration. It could have been
adopted by the relevant departments, which put the nuclear safety of the
country, its population, and of the rest of the world first.

 

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