We appeal to Eskom Group Chief Executive, Mr de Ruyter:
1 To acknowledge that Koeberg will never be as safe as modern designs
2 To shut down Koeberg in 2024 as originally planned
3 To not try to run Koeberg after 2024 while it lacks modern safety features such as a core catcher
4 To avoid unnecessary load shedding which will result from life extension work in 2022 and 2023
5 To not spend billions of rand patching up this old plant from the 1970s just so that it can run beyond 2024
6 To divert those funds to supporting community-owned renewable energy, and to starting work immediately on finding a permanent solution to dispose of over 1000 tons of high level waste which are on the Koeberg site
Why is this important?
The Koeberg Nuclear plant comes to the end of its design life in July 2024, but Eskom wants to keep operating it for an extra 20 years. This will cost an estimated R20bn or more [1], and will require the reactors to be offline during 2022, resulting in more load shedding. From a safety perspective, Eskom has a very poor recent track record of maintaining its plants safely, and we do not have confidence that they can operate this ageing plant safely for 20 years longer than it was designed to run. We are also concerned that the public is not aware of the threat to their health and safety, lack of insurance to cover loss of value, nor of the evacuation plan, which may not be practical to implement. We note that there has been extensive corrosion damage to the containment buildings as described here [2] and here [3], but Eskom continues to keep the extent of the damage a secret.
References:
[1] R20bn life extension of Koeberg power station poses significant risks for South Africa. Daily Maverick, 28 Nov 2021.
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-11-28-r20bn-life-extension-of-koeberg-power-station-poses-significant-risks-for-south-africa/
[2] Cracks in Koeberg safety claims, koebergalert.org, 11 Feb 2021
https://koebergalert.org/2021/02/11/cracks-in-koeberg-safety-claims/
[3] Damage and crack found around circumference of Koeberg Power Station. capetownetc.com, 12 Feb 2021
https://www.capetownetc.com/news/damage-and-crack-found-around-circumference-of-koeberg-power-station/
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