The mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant in Morong, Bataan. Philstar.com/File Photo

ver the decades we published several stories on the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). For over 40 years the BNPP in Morong, Bataan has remained unused. Loans for the Westinghouse-designed plant, built during Martial Law have been fully paid for more than a decade. And despite its tremendous cost to the struggling Philippine economy, the plant has never generated even a single watt of electricity.

We’re publishing yet another article, given the Duterte administration’s desire to bring the plant online after four decades of laying dormant. In May 14-16 Sochi, Russia hosted the 2018 Atomexpo International Forum, an annual event where “leaders of the world nuclear power industry, representatives of international, national and public organizations, Russian and foreign companies, key experts in nuclear area” meet to talk about their industry.

In attendance was Philippine Nuclear Research Institute Director Carlo Arcilla. In an article published in the Philippine Star on May 24,  Arcilla, “a geoscientist and geotechnical engineering expert,” debunks several myths about the BNPP.

According to Arcilla, “the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has certified that there is no fault underneath the mothballed nuclear power plant.” The BNPP says Philvolcs “was built on a solid foundation of hard rock.”

Also, the BNPP is not in the crater of a volcano. Although Arcilla admits that the BNPP flanks Mt. Natib which is a dormant volcano according to Philvolcs.

On the other side of the argument is geologist Kelvin Rodolfo who in 2016 updated a paper he co-authored titled: “Geological Hazards of the Bataan Nuclear Plant: Propaganda and Scientific Fact.” Rodolfo is professor emeritus at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

In an Inquirer article published 2-years back, Rodolfo points to data from the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center, noting that “many earthquakes occurred on Mt. Natib between 1951 and 2016.”

Further, Rodolfo notes that former dictator Ferdinand Marcos “forced the construction to begin in 1976, even before the natural hazards had been properly assessed.”

Given strong arguments on both sides of this issue, and the significant costs involved with starting-up the long-mothballed plant, It behooves the Duterte administration to find a neutral third-party—preferably under the auspices of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)—to determine the viability of activating the BNPP.

We’d like to hear from our readers. Tell us if you think the BNPP should or should not be activated. Published 5/29/2018