The Cold of Nuclear Security

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.