VietNamNet Bridge - Scientists say It will be very difficult to ensure safety for a nuclear power plant on the sea and fix problems from radiation leaks.

China is getting closer to the construction of nuclear power plants in the sea, which may be used to support its illegal projects on the East Sea.

China now runs 30 nuclear power plants and is building other 24 plants, all of them on the mainland.

Nguyen Huu Huan, main researcher from the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute, said that every nuclear power plant on the mainland was equipped with a system aiming to prevent radiation leakage in case of accidents;,however, the leakage still occurred.

The risks will be even higher for plants on the sea which bear influences from many factors, including storms, tsunamis and collision. 

“It will be a very difficult task to ensure safety for the radioactive plant on the sea, especially in case of electricity cuts. The Fukushima accident is a typical example,” he said.

China is getting closer to the construction of nuclear power plants in the sea, which may be used to support its illegal projects on the East Sea.

“And if accidents occur, it will be much more difficult to fix the radiation leakage on the sea than on the mainland,” he said. 

Nguyen Mong Sinh, former deputy head of the Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute, said there was no precedent about a nuclear power plant on the sea.

“This is the first time I heard about this,” he said.

Nguyen Nhi Dien, Deputy Director of the Institute of Atomic Energy Vietnam, said Russia once mentioned the idea of building floating nuclear power plants, but it had not moved any further to implement the plan.

Huan also thinks that it would be risky to set up a nuclear power plant on the East Sea because this is the area with many storms, earthquakes and tsunamis. Moreover, if troubles occur, they will also affect the territorial waters of many countries in the region.

In conclusion, scientists said they can see three big problems. First, the risks the power plants on the sea will face are much higher than the ones in mainland.

Second, if accidents occur, the consequences will be serious because the radiation will spread more quickly in the marine environment.

Third, it will be costly and difficult to fix problems at the plants on the sea. Meanwhile, the radioactive pollution will be much more serious than other hazardous substances.

Vietnam, like other countries in the area to be affected by the project, has the right to ask for international organizations to inspect the safety of the project.

Dat Viet