If you live anywhere near the Koeberg Nuclear Power station and hear the wailing of emergency alarms go off on Tuesday between 10 and 12 am, don’t freak out and head for the Karoo.
Sometimes ignorance is bliss and, after some of the terms of South Africa’s nuclear deal with Russia have come to light, I might be inclined to agree.
A new investigation reveals that there have been some serious coverups at Pelindiba, South Africa’s largest nuclear research facility. This is a little worrying, because behind the walls of that facility lies 600kg of weapons-grade uranium, enough to make 20 very loud bangs.
A Japanese parliamentary panel has said in a report that the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant was “a profoundly man-made disaster”, and that the disaster “could and should have been foreseen and prevented”. The report also blamed cultural conventions and a reluctance to question authority.