Due to power shortages and high electricity production costs from coal and oil, the Government has speeded up the rate of progress and scale of the first nuclear power projects in Vietnam to generate electricity before 2020. Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan said that the Government has asked Russian and Japanese consultancy agencies to improve safety levels and use the safest technologies for nuclear power plants in Vietnam.
After the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident, safety issue has been considered to ensure the safety at the highest level. How has plant technology currently considered in the first project in Vietnam?
After the incident of earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March 2011, the Government also guided to increase the safety requirements for the nuclear power plants to the highest level. Thus, reports of the Russian and Japanese consultancy agencies have been monitored and proposed to improve safety levels. This means safer technologies would be used in the nuclear power plants in Vietnam.
The Russian and Japanese consultancy agencies also accepted these requirements. In the investment report submitted to the Vietnamese Government in 2013, they would give a lot of plans using the safest and the most modern technologies for the first two nuclear power plants in Vietnam.
The selection of construction sites is an important factor in ensuring safety. Have the construction sites of power plants been identified in Ninh Thuan Province?
The consultancy agencies are conducting a survey. Due to the higher safety requirements of the Vietnamese Government, they also spend more time on examining to ensure the first two nuclear power plants will be built on the safest sites. Therefore, the rate of progress of construction and investment report may also be slower than expected.
What about the preparation in all aspects?
The Government has established the National Council for Nuclear Safety and just met the first session. The council concluded to require the Vietnam Electricity as well as the Russian and Japanese consultancy agencies to consider the safety issue, including location survey as well as technology selection.
When investment report from Japan and Russia are submitted, the Government will set up another council evaluating the safety issue. This council would include representatives of the state and international agencies to ensure the safety for the two nuclear power projects.
A national program on nuclear safety has been built, of which there have many different components. In addition to the application of international technical standards of the Russia, Japan and International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure the highest nuclear safety level, human resource training program on nuclear safety has been also promoted not only for Vietnam Electricity, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Science and Technology but also for other relevant ministries and sectors, including the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Information and Communications to urgently response to incidents during the progress of construction and operation of the nuclear power plants.
The Ministry has also had programs propagating to the community as well as managers and scientists about nuclear safety; and cooperated with International Atomic Energy Agency and nuclear agencies of Japan, the US and Russia to build a large media center next to a nuclear power plant. The Ministry has also constructed a research center on nuclear science and technology, with the support of Russia and the investment value of about US$500 million, built a reactor system with necessary equipments, and environment and radiation monitoring systems to support techniques for the nuclear power plants.
Nuclear reactor technology at sea is cheap and convenient. If incidents occur, the impact on a large scale will reduce. Should Vietnam adopt this technology?
In the construction of the first nuclear power plants in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam asked to use the latest and safest technologies.
To evaluate safety levels, it takes time to test. If the technology has not been tested by time, no one can assert the safety of projects, even nuclear power plants at sea. Moreover, when the radiation incident occurs in a factory in Russia, its fallout can cover the whole of Europe. Thus, the problem is how to prevent incidents.
When investment report is submitted to the Vietnamese Government, including the selection of technology and site, the Government will establish the council to assess and determine location and technology. After that, the construction of the nuclear power plants will be implemented./.
