Dear Sir,

Cited by many as a critical component of any meaningful carbon reduction effort, nuclear energy has been relegated in developed countries. Some nations are planning complete nuclear-power phase-outs and others see a reduced role for the technology as safety related costs and the viability of alternatives – principally natural gas – increase.

While the developed world gets cold feet on nuclear power, its prospects in developing countries are different. The challenges of meeting electricity demand, reducing reliance on imported energy, and promoting economic growth while lowering carbon dioxide emissions, leave many emerging nations with no alternative but to consider nuclear energy as a key component of their economic development and energy security strategies. The International Energy Agency (IAEA) projections show that these countries will account for 40 percent of total global nuclear power generation by 2035..

Several developing countries are looking to construct their first nuclear reactors in the next decade or so; the United Arab Emirates has broken ground on the construction of its first units, and Turkey, Jordan and Vietnam are also well along in their plans to build their first civilian nuclear reactor. A handful of others are seriously considering nuclear power, but commitments are pending.

Serious challenges remain in expanding or introducing a nuclear energy infrastructure in developing countries. Major barriers include the high cost of building nuclear power plants, the time required to develop robust legal and regulatory frameworks, the long-term commitment required, establishing a sustainable safety and non-proliferation culture, small grid sizes and lack of interconnections, and lack of human resources capacity.

Nuclear power can be an interesting source of energy for Bangladesh as long as there is experience and knowledge to handle the situation. Unlike fossil fuel-fired power plants, nuclear reactors do not produce air pollution or CO2 emissions while operating. A major environmental concern related to nuclear power is the creation of radioactive wastes such as uranium mill tailings, spent reactor fuel, and other radioactive wastes. These materials can remain radioactive and dangerous to human health for thousands of years. A nuclear waste treatment plan should be carried out prior to the design of the nuclear power plant.

Kamrul Alam Khan

From an economic point of view, if a country has mines of nuclear fuel which could guarantee energy independence for a very long time, then it may be beneficial. However the safety aspects are often underestimated: 1) nuclear waste storage will contaminate the surrounding areas, and possibly very big areas if storage sites are not carefully selected and maintained, until an effective treatment of nuclear waste will be invented. Is this really better than carbon emissions? 2) a country subjected to any kind of natural disasters is an automatic no-no to nuclear power (Fukushima) 3) knowledge and experience of nuclear power plants must be very good to avoid incidents (Chernobyl and many less serious but neverthless important accidents in the "developed" countries).

Therefore from a safety point of view, nuclear fission power plants are not a good idea, unless you have large inhabitated areas not subjected to natural disasters where you can build the nuclear plants and storage sites. Additionally you need to have qualified engineers which know what they are doing while designing, building and operating the plants, as well as storing the nuclear waste. As mentioned above the country needs also to have access to significant amounts of nuclear fuel to make this investement economically sound.

Bangladesh's current nuclear policies have relied heavily on closed expert panels without sufficient public involvement. Although highly advanced new reactors may reduce risks based on “inherent” safe technologies, i.e. “passively safe” measures developed by the generation III reactor, for successful nuclear power production, public and stakeholder involvement before the formal operation is fundamental. Failing to do so may develop negative perception and attitude against the program. https://www.thedailystar.net/law-our-rights/rights-advocacy/future-nuclear-energy-bangladesh-1405837