Alternative nuclear plant could work
I agree with Francis Cheng (“Why even SE Asia’s most advanced country must shun nuclear power”, Letters, May 21) that operating nuclear plants in Singapore would be a highly risky venture with no room for error.
Those who run such plants would be hard put to prevent the kind of human error that triggered meltdowns at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island.
So far, however, the debate has focused on nuclear plants using fission rather than fusion. Fusion technology is being developed in countries including France, Germany and Malaysia.
The mechanism involves fusing two atoms, such as those of hydrogen, to release energy, and the outcome differs vastly from splitting atoms.
Some researchers estimate we are less than a decade away from achieving commercially viable generation of electricity via nuclear fusion, which would be the most efficient way to release energy locked up in matter. It would also have zero carbon emissions. But the most important advantage of plants run on fusion is that there is no danger of a meltdown.
We have abundant sources of hydrogen in our seas that would last a very long time. Nuclear fission, the conventional way, has been found to be too risky for Singapore, but we have yet to follow in Malaysia’s footsteps and explore fusion.
We must act soon if we are to hand in a good report card on our carbon emissions.
Lee Kay Yan
Singapore
(From the Straits Times/ANN)
