Vietnam to continue nuclear project amid crisis

Amid fears over Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis, a top Vietnamese official has confirmed Vietnam will continue with its nuclear project to build a nuclear power plant in a central province in 2014.

Artist’s impression of Vietnam’s future nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan province (Photo: VietNamNet)

This is a confirmation from chairman of the National Assembly (NA)’s office, Tran Dinh Dan, at a press conference held in Hanoi yesterday to announce the agenda of the ninth NA meeting.
The policy to build the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant has been passed by the NA - the Vietnamese top lawmaking body, so it will be not discussed again the next NA meeting expected to start on March 21.
It is certain that there will be no change to the project and all preparations for it are underway, he added.
As planned, works on the plant will be started in 2014 and the plant will supply electricity to the whole nation in 2020.
Russia has been selected as the supplier of technologies for the future nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan province.
Meanwhile, after the Fukushima nuclear incidents, China has conducted security checks at its nuclear power plants and temporarily suspended nuclear power projects that do not meet safety standards.
Vietnam’s nuclear plant safer than Fukushima
At a press conference of the Ministry of Science and Technology two days ago, Hoang Anh Tuan, deputy head of the Atomic Energy Department, said the nuclear incidents in Japan has given Vietnam a new lesson, which is the need to re-consider the selection of construction site for the future nuclear power plant.
In addition, peripheral equipment, such as electric conducting devices, should be taken more into account, he said.
Dr. Ngo Dang Nhan, head of the Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, also said the selection of a construction site is of critical importance to the safety of Vietnam.
He emphasized that a construction site should be selected only when it is able to ensure the safety for nature, people and communities.
Vietnam’s future nuclear power plant is expected to be built in Phuong Dinh commune, Thuan Nam district, Ninh Thuan province.
This area has been determined to lie in a zone that is prone to 5-6 Richter scale earthquakes. Therefore, the plant must be designed to be able to survive quakes measuring at least at 6 or 7 on the Richter scale, he warned.
Unlike the Fukushima plant, where the active safety basis is applied, the future nuclear plant in Ninh Thuan has the passive (automatic) safety features, said Prof. Vuong Huu Tan, head of the Vietnam Nuclear Energy Institute.
That means when the future Vietnam plant faces an incident similar to that in Fukushima, the Vietnamese plant will automatically be made cool by an automatic cooling system within 72 hours without any interference from the operator or any additional eclectic source, Prof. Tan said.
The Fukushima I’s reactor from which the accident occurred is kind of an older generation whose anti-earthquake ability is not strong enough to survive the quake on March 11, he added.