Nuclear
power impossible to operate in 2020
Why
do you think so?
Countries that use nuclear power all have an
independent agency on nuclear safety. This agency is independent in making
decisions in all circumstances, from building to operating nuclear powers.
Vietnam must not be an exception.
However, Vietnam currently has only the
Nuclear Radiation Safety Bureau, under the management of the Ministry of
Science and Technology. This agency is not a national body, so it cannot
effectively appraise the safety and supervise the construction and operation
process of the nuclear power plants.
Moreover, the Nuclear Radiation Safety Bureau
has only 80 employees, including only 30 who have basic knowledge of the
nuclear technology. I’m teaching this group of 30 people. They are very young.
Some of them are newly graduates who were trained at home and overseas for
several months or several years.
But if they study 4-5 years overseas and
return home with university diplomas on nuclear technology, they only study
theory and on physics or hydrodynamics while there are tens of fields related
to atomic reactors.
In Europe, Russia and the USA, people who work
in the nuclear industry must have at least 8-13 years of experience. France’s
nuclear experts increased from 85 in 1975 to 1,800 in 1986. France could train
such a number of nuclear experts because it already has a good
scientific-technological foundation, while Vietnam has nothing. From now to
2020, Vietnam must have at least 500 people who work in the nuclear safety
sector. It is very difficult.
Therefore, the schedule to put the first
nuclear power plant into operation in 2020 is unfeasible.
If
the plant runs behind the schedule, will it cause loss for Vietnam?
Vietnam may have to hire foreign experts or
foreign organizations to evaluate its nuclear safety documents related to the
nuclear power plants’ location and design. For example, Vietnam may have to pay
Eur1,800-2,500 per day for a foreign expert who works at its nuclear power
plants. If it prolongs, it will be very costly. Thus, technology transfer and
update of the nuclear power plants will be slow.
In
that situation, what should Vietnam do?
Training is very important. During 45 years
evaluating safety documents of the designs of nuclear power plants in Finland,
Japan, Germany, the USA, etc. and participated in supervisory trips to these
countries, I have collected many documents which are not provided at
universities.
Curriculars used at universities in the world
are basic programs for nuclear physics. If Vietnamese people are trained there,
when they return, they can only learn general knowledge, not experience to be
able to appraise safety documents of nuclear power plants in Vietnam, which are
extremely complicated.
In the next ten years, Vietnam must have a
national council on nuclear power, which will cooperate with big universities
and experts to compile a specialized curriculum for Vietnamese trainees before
sending them to study overseas.
Rectors of some famous universities in Vietnam
told me that they are thinking of compilation of such a curriculum but the implementation
is slow, not drastic as I saw in China and South Korea in the 1980s-1990s.
What
is your opinion about the technology that Vietnam chooses for its first nuclear
power plants?
Russian technology is considered the best in
the world. In comparison with European countries and the US; Russian technology
is technically better. However, its “quality protection culture” in assembly
and construction is less than European countries and the US.
How
much percentage does the “safety culture” account in the production cost of
reactors?
It accounts for 20 percent of the production
cost of the reactor and 20 percent in the operation process. A mistake in
quality assurance that forces a reactor to stop operation for 1-2 days may
cause losses of $1 million per day, for a reactor of 1,000 MW.
* Dr. Tran Dai Phuc has worked in nuclear
power industry for 45 years in France, Canada, Belgium and Australia. He used
to be an international nuclear controller. He now lives in France.
Dr. Phuc returns to Vietnam this time at the
Vietnamese government’s invitation to share his experience and train staffs of
the Nuclear Radiation Safety Agency and related bodies.
He has presented around 2,000 books on nuclear
technology to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Tien Phong
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment