Are you in Favor of constructing a nuclear power plant in Mindanao? Why or why not?

According what I’ve read about nuclear power plant it is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical in all conventional thermal power stations the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity. Constructing a nuclear power plant in Mindanao will supply a large quantity of electricity that is able so power-up the whole island of Mindanao. Since Leyte and Samar is experiencing a shortage of electricity especially Samar, constructing a nuclear power plant in Mindanao will increase the supply of electricity this project will include the Leyte-Mindanao interconnection to provide a 230 megavolt a big help to us. According to the article I have read, “Last month, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said that” Mindanao will have not only enough but surplus power supply by 2015, with the construction of coal-fired power plants in various parts of Mindanao to supply the island with more than 500 megawatts (MW) of power by then.”

Aside from the positive results of the construction of the nuclear power plant another point of view must be tackled. First is the nuclear power plant is safe to be operated? Secondly is the place where the location of the construction has a reliable Security, since Mindanao has a high alert security level? And lastly are we ready if a catastrophe happens due to a man error, natural disaster that will have a great effect  on the nuclear power plant resulting to a tragedy that will effect human lives and all its surroundings?

According to what I have read building a nuclear power plant requires a high standard if its facilities, meaning a thicker wall compared to an ordinary building. A high technology in the control center and more advance in safety system according to the organization responsible of setting the standard of its safetiness. Nuclear reactors become preferred targets during military conflict and, over the past three decades, have been repeatedly attacked during military air strikes, occupations, invasions and campaigns. According to the article I’ve read  a transmission tower of the NGCP in Barangay Madia, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, was toppled Sunday by unidentified armed men with an improvised explosive device.The military said that the explosion felled Tower 168 at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, causing a total blackout in Cotabato City and nearby areas, according to the statement. -- C.A. Carillo the Securuty level in Mindanao is not stable.

Most of the location for a nuclear power plant is at the coastline in order to provide a ready source of cooling water for the essential service water system. As a consequence the design needs to take the risk of flooding and tsunamis into account. The World Energy Council (WEC) argues disaster risks are changing and increasing the likelihood of disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, hurricanes, typhoons, flooding. High temperatures, low precipitation levels and severe droughts may lead to fresh water shortages. Seawater is corrosive and so nuclear energy supply is likely to be negatively affected by the fresh water shortage. This generic problem may become increasingly significant over time. Failure to calculate the risk of flooding correctly lead to a Level 2 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale during the 1999 Blayais Nuclear Power Plant flood, while flooding caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami lead to the Fukushima I nuclear accidents.

For me it is good to have a nuclear power plant in our country to supply the high demand of electricity. So that there would be no interruptions or Blackout in the country. Because most of the people in our country now rely on electricity for television, food, gadget, etc. The question was if I’m going to be in favor of constructing a nuclear power plant at Mindanao? For me I would say No, in Mindanao because first and foremost there would be a big threat of terrorism in Mindanao, and an explosion of a nuclear power plant would result to big catastrophe, not only in Mindanao but the whole nation and we don’t want it to happen. So I would not be in favour to the project.