Singapore Considering Nuclear Energy

SINGAPORE IS considering going into nuclear energy. They will be holding a convention sometime in June to discuss this issue. However, the kind of power plant to be built would most likely not be the huge scale ones you see on TV. It would most probably be a smaller-scale reactor currently in its testing stage in Japan. These kind of reactors are more suited for countries like Singapore, and for operating underground.

This is a start for Singapore, as we are finally looking into nuclear energy. Nuclear energy, like everything else, has, of course, its advantages and disadvantages.

One advantage of having a nuclear power plant here in Singapore is that we can reduce our reliance on other countries for electricity. We would not be affected, or at least too affected, by power outages happening in, for example, Indonesia.

However, with advantages always comes disadvantages. Nuclear waste is not easy to dispose of. The waste have to be stored in large cement containers and buried underground for millions of years as radiation lives for a very long time. This reduces the amount of land available for use.

Another bane of nuclear is that, if not operated carefully, nuclear is potentially fatal. Take for example the case of the Chernobyl disaster in Russia.