[Editorial] Secretive Decisions Cause Doubts about Nuclear Energy

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, located in Daejeon, has four times more the intermediate and Low Level radioactive Waste (ILLW) than previously known. In addition, the government has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the precise amount while at the same time not telling everything in white papers on nuclear energy or in documents submitted to the National Assembly. In addition, it has been reported that a major System- integrated Modular Advanced Reactor (SMART) is being planned for the Daejeon area, without formally consulting with local opinion. The government still wants us to believe its claim that nuclear energy is safe?

What makes you the angriest is the contempt this shows for the people. Last month it was reported to the IAEA that the institute has 22,310 barrels of waste. Last year there was no mention of that in the Ministry of Science and Technology's Nuclear Energy White Paper, and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy's recent white paper mentions only 5,155. There are no details in the report submitted to the National Assembly last February. Do they mean to say that the amount of waste has quadrupled in the period of just a few months? The government must make a clear apology and, following a thorough inquiry, determine who is responsible.

There is a lot wrong with the plan for SMART. The US classification system defines what is a test reactor as a research reactor that has smaller output, and then the legitimacy of the location is also being called into question. They reportedly have chosen Daejeon, which has unstable stratigraphic qualities, because of what was seen as a high level of "economic and humanities and social conditions." They ignored the fact that safety comes first in nuclear reactors. Is the intention to build an easy reactor while avoiding the complexities of consulting with public opinion?

The people's anxieties are not disappearing even thought a lot of money is spend on advertising the safety of nuclear energy. The government needs to remember that the shortcut to getting rid of unnecessary controversy and misunderstanding is providing transparent information and trustworthy policies even if that is troublesome and consumes more time.

The Hankyoreh, 3 November 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]