Scientist casts doubt on nuclear benefits

ABC News Online
Monday, May 22, 2006. 4:00pm (AEST)

A NSW scientist says building a nuclear plant will not have a short-term effect on harmful gases. Scientist casts doubt on nuclear benefits. Scientists say it could take at least 10 years to build a nuclear plant to meet Australia's growing electricity needs. And that may be too late to address the issue of increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. If the Federal Government finally gives the green light to a nuclear plant, Frank Muller from the University of New South Wales says the framework to manage nuclear power needs to be put in place.

He says it could take a decade before it is built and providing electricity. "So it actually takes even longer to provide a greenhouse benefit than it does to build a power plant," he said. Professor Muller says nuclear power stations are expensive to build, and safety is a major issue. However, some scientists say nuclear energy is the most greenhouse friendly and despite the lengthy time it would take to build a plant, it is still an electricity source that needs to be explored.

Meanwhile, a federal Opposition frontbencher says the move towards nuclear power generation could increase the risk of a terrorist attack. The Prime Minister has called for a full debate on the issue of nuclear power, as well as uranium mining and enrichment. Labor MP Kelvin Thomson disagrees, saying the Government should be focussing its interest on renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. "The problem with nuclear power is that more of it that is around, the easier it is for terrorists to get access to it," he said.

"I'm not satisfied that in this day and age you can be absolutely certain that terrorists can't access it."