South Africa’s controversial plans to push forward with the construction of a new nuclear reactor continue to raise the ire of environmentalists across the country.
But until recently the voices of protest were mostly those of the white middle classes. Now grassroots activism is being intensified to ensure that all communities are fully aware of the potential risks of nuclear energy.
Environmentalists say that proposed policies and procedures are dense with jargon and technicalities and this has alienated ordinary people from the debate and participation processes around Eskom’s proposed pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR). They have had to trawl through turgid policy documents and try to make sense of confusing and drawn-out processes. These include appeals and court wrangling since the PMBR plan was first put on the table in the late 1990s.
Environmental groups were recently successful in pressuring the government into extending the participation deadline for comment on the formulation of a radioactive waste management policy for the country. For this process to be meaningful and transparent it will require active participation from a well-informed public.
Now in an effort to demystify nuclear energy and to make the debate and public participation process more inclusive, environmental organisations have stepped up their information dissemination strategies, particularly in disadvantaged communities.
“Poor, black communities of uneducated people have been ignored in this process but they are the people who will suffer most if the PBMR is given the go-ahead,” says Sibusiso Mimi, who is part of Earthlife Africa Cape Town’s Nuclear Costs the Earth campaign.
Mimi says the major issues of safety, economics, waste and health still need to be addressed. He has also dismissed the much-vaunted job creation payoff that Eskom has promised with the PBMR.
“The PBMR technology has not been proven safe. Exposure to radiation is linked to cancer and to immune system problems and with the HIV/Aids numbers in this country it would be a disaster. South Africa has no licensed high-level waste site and the PBMR doesn’t make economic sense. The only people who will get jobs are technicians or scientists,” says Mimi.
The Cape Town campaign was officially started two years ago with collaboration between Earthlife Africa and the Environmental Justice Networking Forum. They have focused on the communities of Khayelitsha, Guguletu, Atlantis and Langa, as well as with communities in the Vaalputs area in the Northern Cape.
Vaalputs is the area earmarked for the high-level waste dump site while the pilot PBMR is proposed for Koeberg in the Western Cape. The uranium-enriched pellets to be used as fuel for the reactor will be manufactured at Pelindaba in the North West province. Trucks will transport this radioactive fuel on public roads across the country.
“The communities are angry because they feel this nuclear issue had been hidden from them,” Mimi says.
Earthlife Africa has held workshops, piggybacking on the platform of community-based organisations and local Congress of South African Trade Unions structures.
“We have seen significant changes but there is still a lot of work to do to educate more people,” he says.
In Johannesburg an intensified information campaign kicked off in August. Victor Munnik, of Earthlife Africa Johannesburg’s anti-nuclear campaign, says: “We are now seeing the fruits of patient campaigning over the past two to three years, but we are moving the campaigning into top gear now because of things such as the current drafting of the radioactive waste management policy. It’s important that this process is not rushed because we need proper participation in formulating a policy that deals with radioactive waste that will be around for thousands of years. Should something go wrong, millions of people will be affected.”
Mashile Phalane, coordinator of Earthlife Africa’s Johannesburg’s Nuclear Costs the Earth campaign, adds: “People have not been aware of all these new nuclear terms so how could they make informed decisions?”
Workshops have so far been held in communities around Pelindaba as well as in areas such as Diepsloot and Atteridgeville. There has also been interest from communities in Garankuwa and Brits.
Workshops explain the basic concepts of nuclear power and radiation, the history of uranium use, associated health risks and the current processes.
The Johannesburg campaigns have linked up with community-based organisations including local groups such as Women against Radiation and various structures of the Catholic Conference of Bishops.
In October the Environmental Justice Networking Forum held a training workshop for community leaders in Johannesburg. Five representatives from each province underwent capacity-building training. The forum also plans a nationwide petition campaign to oppose the PBMR.