KARACHI: The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum and the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) on Thursday announced their participation as co-petitioners in a case against two Chinese nuclear reactors to be built in Karachi.

The decision by the two organisations was announced at the Karachi Press Club during a press conference, which was addressed by Dr Abdul Hameed Nayyar, a professor and physicist, Farhat Fatima, an advocacy officer at Piler, and Mohammad Ali Shah, head of the PFF.

At the outset of the presser, which was attended by a handful of media persons, Dr Nayyar said the case was filed after the announcement made last year by the government to build two 1,100-megawatt nuclear reactors, K-1 and K-2, near the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (Kanupp) complex.

The government announcement drew criticism, with rights activists arguing that a ‘proper’ Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) had not been conducted before initiating work on the project, he said.

“Their plan is to build two more 1,100-megawatt nuclear reactors, K-4 and K-5, within five to six years. This is alarming to us, because its impact on the environment has not been properly assessed and the mandatory public hearing of the assessment has not been held,” he said.

He said an EIA report for the project had been submitted by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.

Subsequently, a petition was filed in the Sindh High Court by Dr Nayyar and others including, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Pervez Hoodbhoy and Arif Belgaumi, on Oct 16. In its response to the petition, the court on Nov 26 extended a stay on the construction of the Chinese reactors till Dec 5. The order came after the PAEC failed to comply with the Environment Protection Act, said the petitioners, adding that the EIA report was “not made public and the mandatory public hearing was not held either”.

Explaining the steps they had taken so far to get an answer from the relevant authorities, Dr Nayyar said they were informed that the population within the five-kilometre radius of the nuclear power plant had been removed, “whereas what is required is to relocate the population within the 30-kilometre radius [of the plant] to another area”.

Speaking about Kanupp where the nuclear reactors will be built, Dr Nayyar said: “It (Kanupp) was built 40 years ago on a design that was relevant and proper according to the times, as there was no population in the surrounding areas. At present, it is not proper for the kind of project that is being initiated as there are residential areas around, which will get affected by any disaster.”

For the past 40 years, he argued, no scientific research had been carried out on the site and its possible impact on the environment, as the site itself is “based on a fault line causing earthquake, cyclone or tsunami”.

He said the Chinese corporation was willing to pay Rs6 billion out of its total cost of Rs10 billion, as the remaining Rs4 billion would be paid by the government of Pakistan.

“I must add here that so far all communication about the project between the two countries has been done on paper. This is the first project taken up by the Chinese corporation and we have heard that they have changed the design to Hualong-I that they’ll be experimenting with for the first time. Fifteen per cent of the parts for the reactor will be bought from France. All of this sounds quite alarming as Pakistan in general and Karachi in particular will be made a ground for experimentation, which should be denied and spoken against as much as possible,” he said.

Asked about the reasons behind lack of scientific research on the site and its possible impact on the environment, Dr Nayyar said that once during a meeting with the atomic energy top brass, he along with three other physicists were categorically informed that any investigation on the project or the complex would come under espionage with the result that they would be tried before a court of law. “We were also informed that anything with the word uranium in it is a strategic project and so can’t be investigated,” he added.

PFF founder Mohammad Ali Shah and Piler’s Farhat Fatima reiterated the views. They argued that the world over nuclear reactors were not being used, as people were looking for environment- and people-friendly alternatives.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2014