NAGASAKI--Lessons learned from the Fukushima disaster led a discussion on the risks of nuclear power generation at the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs here on Nov. 3.
NAGASAKI--Lessons learned from the Fukushima disaster led a discussion on the risks of nuclear power generation at the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs here on Nov. 3.
Some experts called for a cautious approach in response to the 2011 meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
Others presented the case for continued use of atomic energy.
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, who served as chairman of the Parliamentary Investigation Commission on the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, was a panelist at the plenary session titled “The Risk of Civil Use of Nuclear Energy.”
“Awareness of safety was lacking (in Japan about nuclear power plants),” he said, referring to the Fukushima plant.
He suggested that measures to deal with nuclear accidents be formulated in an open forum with international experts contributing.
Sharon Squassoni, a researcher for the U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, also took a cautious stance.
She said that cheaper methods to obtain energy are available, and that the Fukushima disaster clearly showed a gap between expectations of nuclear power generation and its reality.
Squassoni also spoke of the need to consider the scope of the safety that must be guaranteed.
But Ramamurti Rajaraman, an Indian physicist, argued for the promotion of nuclear energy. He said that its risks have to be compared with those of not possessing electricity.
An audience member also said that the energy source is necessary.
“Atomic energy is helpful for (economic) growth of developing countries. Although there were accidents in Chernobyl, Three Mile (Island) and Fukushima, we must not get emotional,” the individual said.
The Pugwash Conferences were started by scientists in Canada in 1957 to discuss ways to abolish nuclear weapons. Since the 2011 Fukushima accident, participants in the international event have also discussed the dangers of the nonmilitary use of nuclear energy.
The current event, the 61st in the series, runs until Nov. 5.