“It's the first step. We now have a regulation, so if we
wish to go to nuclear power we would have to take the other prerequisite steps,
but we would have to increase the number of persons that are involved in this
industry and increase the regulatory body. The body that we have now is not
sufficient to take on nuclear power”
Director General of
ICENS (Inter-national Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences), Charles
Grant commenting on the Nuclear
Safety and Radiation Act
Jamaica, welcome to the Nuclear Age!! You’re welcome and you
can play the song Radioactive
by Imagine Dragons!
The Senate (Upper House) on Friday July 17 2015 passed a Nuclear
Safety and Radiation Act to regulate Nuclear fuel in Jamaica as
reported in the article “Senate
approves Bill to regulate nuclear technology”, published Tuesday, July 21,
2015, The Jamaica Observer.
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The Bill seeks to regulate the activities, practices,
apparatuses and facilities involving ionizing radiation and nuclear technology
as stated by the Horses' Mouth , the Jamaica Information “Service
in the article Senate Approves Bill to Regulate Nuclear Technology”,
published July 21, 2015 By Chris Patterson, The
Jamaica Information Service.
In order to achieve this, Minister of Industry, Investment
and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton has stipulated in the Bill the need to set up
a regulatory body called the Hazardous Substances Regulatory Authority. That
body will establish operational standards and regulate the use of Nuclear
material and Nuclear Energy in Jamaica.
Nuclear Safety and
Radiation Act – Protecting Jamaicans from Nuclear Radiation
The Bill will create a Board of Directors to run the
Hazardous Substances Regulatory Authority. As a regulator, they've got their
work cut out for them:
1. Prevent
radioactive sources from harming the people and the environment
2. Teach
Jamaican about Nuclear Power, Nuclear Material and how to safely handle
Radioactive Material
3. Determine
compensation to Jamaican in case of damage caused by ionizing radiation from
Radioactive Material
4. To
regulate the use of Nuclear Material i.e. Medical, Mining, Telecoms and Alternative
Energy
5. To
comply with the IAEA
(International Atomic Energy Agency) Convention on Nuclear Safety
They must have been under a huge amount of pressure, it had
only previously been debated a week prior on Thursday July 9th 2015 in the
House of Representatives passed the Nuclear as reported in the article “Nuclear
Energy Bill Passed”, published Thursday July 9, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner and “House
Passes Bill to Regulate Nuclear Technology”, published July 9, 2015 By
Latonya Linton, The Jamaica Information Service.
So why the haste to pass a Nuclear Bill with so little time
to debate it, as pointed out by Opposition Senators Robert Montague and
Christopher Tufton as noted in the article “Opposition
Relents As Senate Passes Nuclear Bill”, published Saturday July 18, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner?
Possibly because Jamaica might be looking into building a
Nuclear Reactor
Jamaica passes
Nuclear Safety and Radiation Act - Slowpoke at ICENS can finally get upgraded
According to Opposition Senator Kavan Gayle on Friday July
17th 2015, they needed time to debate the implications to the Jamaican people
and workers quote: “The Bill is of a critical nature and it is important to
allow us more time to review it as it could be complemented by legislation such
as the Occupational, Health and Safety Regulation. To be effective, this
legislation will be in need of support, and that can't go unnoticed”.
But Leader of Government Business A.J. Nicholson countered
by point out that we basically sitting in the US of A frying pan, quote: :This
is the kind of legislation which ... we would wish for more time, but there is
a real urgency in getting the Bill passed”.
Indeed, it seems that the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Act
also prohibit the building, importing, exporting, and operating of a
research reactor and the acquisition or development of nuclear explosives.
This implies that not only are they complying to the
IAEA Convention on Nuclear Safety, but it might also be setting the stage
for Nuclear Reactor to be built in Jamaica as suggested by Director General of
ICENS (Inter-national Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences), Charles
Grant in the article “Great
Potential Benefits From Nuclear Bill – Scientist”, published Wednesday July
22, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner.
To quote Dr. Charles Grant, this is the first step towards a Nuclear Power Plant: “I would certainly like to see a small nuclear power plant here because I believe it's a very efficient way to produce energy and is quite cost effective. One nuclear plant is more than Jamaica needs; that would power us completely”.
 |
To quote Dr. Charles Grant, this is the first step towards a Nuclear Power Plant: “I would certainly like to see a small nuclear power plant here because I believe it's a very efficient way to produce energy and is quite cost effective. One nuclear plant is more than Jamaica needs; that would power us completely”.
Right now, however, the Director General of ICENS is just
springing for an upgrade for Slowpoke,
the Research Reactor at ICENS from a HEU (Highly Enriched Uranium) to a LEU
(Low Enriched Uranium) as reported back in April 2015 in the article “Jamaica
set to convert research reactor to LEU”, published 08 April 2015, World Nuclear News.
To quote the Director General of ICENS, they are keen on this
upgrade, as it'll reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation while extending
Slowpoke lifespan and function, quote: “We will be able to extend the life of
the reactor, acquire new equipment and other upgrades, and make changes to the
building that will improve our efficiency; so the amount of research that we
will be able to do will increase for sure”.
Jamaica going for
a Nuclear Power Plant - How a Telecom Provider can use Nuclear Power to provide
Cheaper 4G LTE
This idea of a Nuclear Reactor was originally floated by
Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell for Jamaica
to look into the construction of Nuclear Reactors back in March 2011 as
reported in my blog
article entitled “Phillip
Pauwell's Nuclear Power in a Bathtub - SilkWood meets the China Syndrome”.
In fact Nuclear Power Plants are so efficient that once
installed, it'll be another fifty (50) years before it needs refuelling.
Unfortunately, Jamaican at the time were not receptive to
what was a fairly sound idea, as Nuclear Energy is actually a form of
Alternative Energy as noted in my blog article
entitled “Nuclear
Power and Net Metering - Paulwell's Energy Sector Liberalization Chess Game”.
Coincidentally in the same month, a massive Earthquake and
resulting tsunami struck Japan on Friday March 11 2011, crippling the Fukushima
Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant as noted in my Geezam
blog article entitled “Japan
Nuclear Reactor Meltdown is the Asian Tiger Chernobyl”.
Thus the ugly side of Nuclear Energy was on display,
instantly turning every Jamaicans mind against Nuclear Energy. Especially as Japan continued to suffer the
results of dealing with the Nuclear fallout from the ruptured Fukushima No. 2
Reactor as noted in my Geezam blog article
entitled “Japan
Nuclear Disaster – Implications for Jamaica and the Consumer Electronics World”.
So will we soon have a RFP (Request for Proposal) for
Nuclear Reactor? Or will this result in people being able to import Thermopiles
under license to power Cell sites, a pet theory of mine based on some good
intelligence from friends in a private Facebook Group.
After all, Jamaica would only need just one Nuclear Reactor
to power the entire island for the Next fifty (50) years. Telecom Provides could
set up a Nuclear Power Plant to power their facilities, including cell sites
via a Net Metering facility and allow them to offer Broadband at drastically
lower prices.
More on that theory in another article as Jamaica steps into
the Nuclear Age
Here's the link:
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