‘Fukushima: The Death Knell for Nuclear Energy?’~ new book by Fr Seán McDonagh SSC

Nuclear energy has been described as a ‘Pandora’s Box’ by Columban eco-theologian Fr Seán McDonagh.

Speaking at the launch of his latest book, ‘Fukushima: The Death Knell for Nuclear Energy?’, Fr Seán said: “The nuclear industry began with weapons of mass destruction and I would argue that civilian nuclear power is almost as dangerous”.

He pointed out that “no place on Earth is considered a safe repository for plutonium, which must be minded for several hundred thousand years”. He condemned placing the custodial responsibility of these dangerous wastes on future generations for centuries to come, suggesting that “we must consider this matter to be an ethical issue”.

He called for investment in nuclear power to be diverted into investment into cleaner, safer and more localised renewable energies such as solar, wind and wave power. This would go alongside educational campaigns and technologies to reduce energy consumption and deal with peak energy periods.

Fr Seán felt that the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan during March 2012 has again shown us that nuclear reactors are fundamentally dangerous. None of the world’s 435 nuclear reactors are immune to human errors, natural disasters, or any of the many other serious incidents that could cause an accident. Millions of people who live near nuclear reactors are at risk and more than 150,000 people who used to live near Fukushima remain displaced from their homes.

However, he felt that, ultimately, economic considerations would be the death knell of the nuclear industry, with the huge expense of setting up new power stations and decommissioning them. In addition, they are uninsurable, so if there are accidents the costs are likely to be met from the public purse. He dismissed nuclear power as a route to reducing carbon emissions in the light of dangerous climate change. “We are told that serious action on climate change needs to happen within the next 4-5 years, but new power stations would take at 16 years or more to be up and running” he said, “and I would argue that from mining uranium to decommissioning nuclear power stations the nuclear industry carries an often hidden carbon emissions toll”.