REPORT FOR THE BULLETIN ON THE JUNE 17 MEETING
The Rotary Club Melbourne met face-to-face on Tuesday 17 June at the RACV Club.
Chair: Anne King
Reporter: Cecily Neil
Photographer: Roger Thorton
The Chair acknowledged the traditional owners of the land upon which the meeting was conducted and welcomed our guest, Khoa (Ken) Ho-Le.
Paul Fowler - Speaker
Paul Fowler, our President-Nominee, is a graduate of the US Naval Academy, has Master Degrees in Nuclear Engineering and Business Administration, and spent nine years operating nuclear reactors on US submarines. He gave a very timely talk on the pros and cons of nuclear power.
Paul began by highlighting the fact that the issue of nuclear power is extremely emotionally charged, with few people understanding the reality behind such concerns as radiation, nuclear weapons, safety, and waste disposal.
The pros with respect to nuclear power are that it is:
- clean,
- mechanically more reliable than wind or solar power,
- has greater grid reliability,
- uses readily available fuel, and
- has no emissions.
Further, when the full life cycle of the reactor is considered, it has operating costs about the same as wind or solar power generation.
Unlike wind power, nuclear power can be made available wherever needed.
The cons with respect to nuclear power are that:
- upfront construction costs are very high (although some can be avoided),
- there is a fear of accidents,
- there is a need to dispose of nuclear waste, and
- there is a danger of it resulting in the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Safety of Nuclear Reactors
The first reactor was built in the UK in 1956; there are now 410 nuclear reactors in operation. There have been only three major accidents.
Three Mile Island (1979): This was due to a combination of equipment failure and operator error. There were no deaths, and no radiation escaped outside the containment vessel. It did, however, damage the safety reputation of nuclear reactors as people had previously been told they were completely safe.
Chernobyl (1986). This was a different type of reactor, with no containment built around the reactor. There were 30 immediate deaths and 4,000 long-term deaths.
Fujishima (2011): This accident was caused when a tsunami flooded the back-up power generators which were needed to keep coolant continuously circulating to prevent a melt-down. There were no deaths, but thousands had to be evacuated.
There have been no accidents with US navy nuclear-powered submarines, despite the hostile environment in which they operate.
Nuclear Waste
While spent fuel is highly reactive, with some isotopes having a half-life of 10,000 years, within 10 years, 90% of radiation in gone, and within 100 years, 99.9% is gone.
Questions Asked
What would be better for Australia: a number of smaller reactors, or one or two large ones? Smaller, modular reactors would probably be better as there is not that same need for expensive safety equipment. Also, a lot of water is needed to keep reactors cool. Therefore if large ones were built in Australia they would need to be on the coast. Smaller reactors would not need as much water. Australia only needs nuclear reactors to supplement solar power when the sun is not shining.
What explains the safety record of the US submarines? The United States can afford to pay more to ensure better designs, better maintenance, and better operator training.
Does Australia need nuclear submarines? Once at sea, nuclear powered submarines can stay underwater as long as the food on the submarine lasts. However, the Australian coast can be protected by standard submarines – nuclear submarines are not necessary.
The idea of building nuclear submarines in Adelaide is unrealistic.
Announcements
Tom Callandar thanked members for the desperately needed winter clothing donated for the Youth Projects.
The last of the 190 sleeping bags donated have now been delivered to the Youths Project and St. Mary’s House of Welcome.
Campbell Chambers reminded members that the Changeover raffle is still open.
Fleur Maidment announced that on 8 July, at 6.30 p.m. the Week 2 RCM activity will be a Nepalese food and social evening organised by the International Service Committee. The restaurant will be announced shortly.
Elias Lebbos announced that accommodation support is still needed for the inbound musician for the last two weeks of September and the first week of October.
There is a sausage sizzle this Sunday. There will also be a volunteer call out for the second half of the year. On average $2,000 per event have been earned at sausage sizzles.
Thanks were extended to Tom Callandar and Peter Duras for organising jackets for DIK.
There will be working bee at RYMEN this Sunday.
Tickets for the Changeover will close this Thursday.
The cost for breakfast at RACV has been raised to $34.
There will be a Board meeting on 18th – discussion will include a new member application.
