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Ethics and Nuclear Energy Technology Ethics and Nuclear Energy Technology Glen Kurokawa Suman Iyengar Darryl Macer Kayo Uejima Napat Chaipraditkul Amarbayasgalan Dorjderem Silvia Gardini Abhik Gupta Cao Liuying Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy Amru Hydari Nazif Jothi Rajan Suman Rao Aliya Tskhay Draft report for open comment All inquiries to Prof. Darryl Macer Email: [email protected] The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of any organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this book and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of the publisher and do not commit the publishers. Edited by Darryl R.J. Macer Design/Layout by Alessandra Blasi (cover), Darryl Macer and Sirisak Chaiyasook (content) Cover photo by © Printed in Thailand CONTENTS Preface Executive Summary Acronyms 1. Nuclear Energy Technology and Climate Change 1.1 Nuclear Energy 1.2 Ethics and Nuclear Energy Technology 1.3 Nuclear Energy Technology in a Global Context 1.4. Drivers and Challenges For and Against Nuclear Powe 2. The Ethics of Nuclear Energy Technology 2.1 Nuclear Science and Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) 2.2 Nuclear Radiation 2.3 Accidents Involving Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) 2.4 Nuclear Fuel and Mining 2.5 Nuclear Waste 2.6 Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Supply 3. Fukushima, Chernobyl and Standards 3.1. Causes of the Accidents 3.2. Environmental Spread of Radioactivity 3.3. Health Effects of Radiation 3.4. Changing Limits of Permitted Radiation Exposure 3.5. Public Access to Data CONTENTS 4. Economics of Nuclear Energy Technology 4.1 Feasibility of Nuclear Energy 4.2 Nuclear Fuel Costs 4.3 Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants 4.4 Capital Costs 4.5 Externalities: The “Hidden Costs” 4.6 Nuclear Wastes and Decommissioning 4.7 Economic Analysis of Chernobyl and Fukushima 4.8. New Generation Nuclear Reactor Technology- Generation IV Nuclear Reactors 4.9 Case Study of China’s Nuclear Development 4.10 Nuclear Energy Options for Indonesia 4.11. Nuclear Energy Development in Kazakhstan 4.12. Philippines Experience 5. Ethical Aspects of Nuclear Energy 5.1 Public Opinion over Nuclear Energy 5.2. Community Engagement on Safety 5.3 Nuclear Proliferation 5.4 Nuclear International Relations 5.5 Nuclear Agreements 5.6 Justice and Equity 5.7 The Rights to Development 5.8 Ethics and Risks 5.9. Sustainability 6. Policy Options and Conclusions 6.1 Reference to Ethical Principles in International Relations 6.2 More Guidelines Regarding the Implementation of Definitions 6.3 Nuclear Ethics in the Context of Climate Change 6.4 More Favourable Alternatives to Nuclear Energy Technology 6.5 Greater Transparency of Nuclear Information 6.6 Alternative Measures to Safeguarding Nuclear Proliferation 6.7 Realistic Assessments of Costs and Implications 6.8 Greater Equality for Developing Countries 6.9 More Ethics in International Agreements 6.10 Increased Importance of Equity and Justice 6.11 Human Rights-Based Approaches 6.12 Provide Effective Measures Against Misuse of Nuclear Waste 7. References 8. Appendix: Information on Nuclear Reactors v :Ethics and Nuclear Energy Technology and Nuclear Energy :Ethics vi Ethics and Nuclear Energy Technology and Nuclear Energy Ethics PREFACE The report stems from the work of many authors and scholars. Much of this was completed under the framework of Working Group 12 established by the Regional Unit in Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific (RUSHSAP) at UNESCO Bangkok under the Ethics and Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific (ECCAP) project. The ethics of nuclear energy technology, as one of the applications of science and technology, is one of the most contentious issues facing human society globally. There are benefits and risks, and how wil leach society balance these? Some countries are adopting the technology to produce electricity, and others are rejecting it. The UN aims to encourage science and value-based discussions on environmental ethics to produce substantive cross-cultural and multidisciplinary outputs that will be relevant for long-term policy making. The aim of the ECCAP project is not to formulate universal economic or political plans of how to deal with these issues. Rather, the working groups of the project aim to increase awareness and discussion of the complex ethical dilemmas related to energy and the environment, and to identify scientific data, and available ethical frameworks of values and principles for policy options that have proven useful in facing the challenges in certain communities and countries. The report was developed by a working group with members from across the region, who participate as individuals in the highest standards of intellectual vigour and integrity, integrating engineers, philosophers, policy makers, experts, youth, and persons of many different cultural backgrounds and experiences. The reports are subject to ongoing open peer review, and the principal vii authors are listed. There is ongoing discussion of numerous reports on the yahoo group, unesco_eet@ yahoogroups.com, that are in various stages of drafting. For all reports, drafts and outlines of others, and specific requests for further case studies and analyses, please examine the working group webpages which list the members, and the overall website, http://www.unescobkk.org/rushsap/energyethics. The report writers thank Technology and Nuclear Energy :Ethics all members of the ECCAP project, and in particular WG12, and Ms. Nobuko Yasuhara for comments. Feedback and comments are invited to Dr. Darryl Macer, Director, eubios Ethics Institute, or email [email protected] Darryl Macer ACRONYMS ASEAN: Association of Southeast Asian Nations CBD: Convention on Biodiversity ALARA: “As low as reasonably achievable”- a concept by the ICRP for radiation risk assessment and management described in detail and substantiated in the recommendation of the ICRP of 1990. AREVA: French public multinational industrial conglomerate founded in 2001 Bq: Becquerel; unit of radioactivity. Defined as the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one nucleus decays per second. Btu: British thermal unit. Defined as the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit at 1 atmosphere of pressure. CANDU: Canada Deuterium Uranium Reactor uses uranium dioxide pellets with natural uranium (enriched with 0.7% 235U) CCGT: Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plant. CRIIARD Commission de Recherche et d’Information Indépendantes sur la Radioactivité (A specialized French NGO for the analysis of radioactivity in the environment, http://www.criirad.org/) Cs: Cesium (radioactive element, 137Cs has a half-life of 30.23 years). One of the principle sources of radiation in the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident. CTBT: Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty D: Deuterium (non-radioactive isotope of Hydrogen (H); used in heavy water as a moderator in a PHWR/CANDU reactor) DU: Depleted Uranium EPA: Environmental Protection Agency, USA ECCAP: Ethics and Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific (Project) FBR: Fast Breeder Reactors FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GHG: Green House Gas GNEP: Global Nuclear Energy Partnership I: Iodine (radioactive isotope 131I has a half-life of 8.07 days). One of the principle sources of radiation in the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident. IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency ICRP: International Council for Radiation Protection IEA: International Energy Agency IGCC: Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Power Plant. IMF: International Monetary Fund IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change kWh: Kilo watt-hour is the amount of power generated or consumed in 1 hour mSv: Measure of the “dose” or amount of radiation received by people MOX: Mixed oxide fuel NEA: Nuclear Energy Agency; a specialized agency within the OECD NEI: Nuclear Energy Institute NGO: Non-Governmental Organization NPP: Nuclear Power Plant NPT: Non-proliferation Treaty NRDC: Natural Resources Defense Council OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development PHWR: Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (also known as CANDU) use heavy water as the coolant. Pu: Plutonium (radioactive element, Pu-239 isotope is derived from 235U in some reactors). PWR: Pressurized water reactors. PWRs comprise the majority of nuclear power plants. Can be classified as LWR’s (light water reactors) that use light water as the primary coolant, and BWR’s (boiling water reactors) that use boiling water as the coolant. Th: Thorium (radioactive element, considered as an alternate fuel in breeder reactors). U: Uranium (radioactive element, 235U isotope used as fuel in nuclear reactors). Nuclear fuel is enriched with 2-5% 235U. U3O8: Triuraniumoctaoxide; Uranium ore commonly called uranium oxide or Pitchblende. Mined as a source of uranium for nuclear fuel. UNDP: United Nations Development Programme 1 UNEP: United Nations Environmental Programme WANO: World Association of Nuclear Operators WNA: World Nuclear Association :Ethics and Nuclear Energy Technology and Nuclear Energy :Ethics Executive Summary This report addresses a topic of great current attention, the ethics of nuclear energy technology. As we consider the ethics of science and technology, nuclear power has always been dreaded as something risky, while
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