Ukraine’s imminent risk points to the danger of nuclear development

of the alarm went off According to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Rafael Mariano Grossi, fighting between Russian aggressors and Ukrainian forces near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant poses a “very real risk of nuclear disaster”. and has relevance far beyond war: raging within Ukraine’s borders.

Conflict has already Germany and the America The cost of relying on authoritarian leaders to supply energy to fossil fuel-producing countries.However, the seizure of Zaporizhia by Russia and Chernobyl’s defunct power plant Chernobyl later returned to Ukrainian control, but early in the war he stressed that the decision to increase reliance on nuclear power entailed risks beyond those at hand.

Ed Husic as Minister of Industry and Science Pointed out during a recent visit to Grossi For this country, Australia has an exemplary nuclear safety record. But one of the most important reasons for this is that Ban on the use of nuclear fission have for power generation promised not to develop nuclear weapons under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

More recently, both of these bans have come into the spotlight. raised the possibility of domestic nuclear power plants to meet our energy needs. This follows last year when the Morrison administration signed his AUKUS agreement with London and Washington.The contract is for Australian Navy submarines to Fueled by weapons-grade uranium.

peter hercher reported for Herald The first question US President Joe Biden posed when he submitted the AUKUS proposal was whether it violated its non-proliferation commitments. The key to dealing with this problem is Paragraph 14 of the IAEA Safeguards Agreement Australia has created loopholes that allow weapons-grade materials to be used without normal safeguards in “unprohibited military activities”.the concern is uploaded earlier this monthat a recent meeting to review the treaty, said that regardless of Australia’s goodwill, this would set a precedent for further transfers of highly enriched nuclear material to other countries.

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Grossi noted that Iran, which first notified the IAEA of its naval nuclear propulsion interest in 2018, has cited the AUKUS agreement to claim its own plans at the 2021 meeting.from allies and neighbors new zealand To Indonesia, has expressed strong reservations about the AUKUS arrangement. Australia maintains that nuclear material from its submarines will only be handled by existing nuclear powers. Nevertheless, the agreement could lead to the perception that the nuclear “haves” simply ignore the “have nots.”

More broadly, nuclear power’s claim to replace coal and gas with non-renewable uranium resources is unique, from the cost to the emissions associated with mining and waste management to the question of where the highly radioactive waste is located. facing the hurdles of It will be saved.

As Herald Pointed out nuclear power declining worldwideOne big reason is cost.A recent CSIRO report stated that renewable energy much cheapereven after transmission and storage are considered.

All sides of politics agree that Australia faces an increasingly complex and challenging security environment. Cambodia When solomon islands against cyberattacks by rogue international actors Target key infrastructurewhile general-turned-Union Senator Jim Moran outlines an even more apocalyptic scenario,second pearl harborIts purpose was to establish China’s hegemony in the Western Pacific.

of Herald agreed in the past Australia should be ready to revisit the arguments in favor of nuclear power. It remains our position. But when we consider these arguments that the recent events in Zaporizhia help strengthen the claim to it, we cannot ignore it. I don’t want to be

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