$63m programme to boost Singapore's nuclear
expertise
By GRACE
CHUA
SINGAPORE is building up
its expertise in nuclear safety, science and engineering, with a
$63 million, five-year research and education programme.
The move, say experts, will help the nation keep on
top of developments in the field, and what to do if a disaster
should strike.
The new effort, announced yesterday by the National
Research Foundation (NRF), comprises a Singapore Nuclear Research
and Safety Initiative led by National University of Singapore
physicist Lim Hock, and a Nuclear Education and Training Fund.
The fund will train undergraduates and graduate
students, and support overseas attachments.
There are few nuclear experts here, and the fund
aims to train about 10 people a year, and about 100 in all over the
next decade.
While there are no citizenship or residency
restrictions, the NRF - which sets the nation's research direction
- wants to attract mainly Singaporeans.
The research will focus on three areas:
Radiochemistry, which will look at how best to detect radioactivity
in the environment and establish baseline data for Singapore;
radiobiology, which will study how health is affected by the small
doses of radiation in, say, a CT X-ray scan; and the safety
analysis of nuclear power plants through models and
simulations.
The programme will also include nuclear policy
research, and public education on nuclear technology.
The announcement comes on the heels of Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong's trip to The Hague last month for the
Nuclear Security Summit. He had noted that despite the 2011
Fukushima nuclear disaster, the world cannot do away with nuclear
energy entirely, especially as energy needs grow and fossil fuels
pose environmental concerns.
In 2012, a two-year nuclear pre-feasibility study
conducted by the Government concluded that while current nuclear
energy technologies are not suitable for Singapore yet, it should
continue to take part in global and regional talks on nuclear
safety.
It should also be able to assess economic
opportunities and safety aspects of various nuclear technologies,
especially as neighbouring countries like Vietnam explore the use
of nuclear energy.
Commenting on the new effort, Singapore Institute
of International Affairs executive director Nicholas Fang said:
"This allows Singapore to keep its finger on the pulse of what's
happening in other countries in the region that are keen to develop
nuclear energy capabilities."
Mr Kwa Chong Guan, a senior fellow at the S.
Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological
University, said: "Singapore, if it is to participate in any
regional discussion on nuclear energy, needs to build up its
expertise on nuclear energy... The establishment of a Nuclear
Safety Research and Education Programme is a step towards this
end."
Top of the news, The Straits Times, Thursday April 24 2014, Pg
A1