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UAE threatens the Gulf region with suspicious nuclear reactors

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UAE media has published construction work for four nuclear reactors, which Abu Dhabi is officially close to operating after being postponed several times amid fears of threats to the Gulf region.

The UAE is preparing to operate one of four nuclear reactors that were scheduled to operate in 2017, with repeated postponements announcing the concerns of observers and experts in the field of nuclear energy.

Every time, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation responded by saying that its nuclear reactors were safe, but nuclear energy experts were not satisfied with Abu Dhabi’s assurances.

And the American magazine Forbes published an article listing some of the reasons for these concerns, citing a report by the Nuclear Consulting Group, in which it stated that cracks appeared in the containment buildings in the four nuclear reactors.

The report pointed out that the appearance of these cracks led to the suspension of work in the reactors, pending the necessary reforms.

Experts say cracks in a key component, the containment building that works to prevent radioactive material from leaking, are a very worrying indicator.

The American magazine refers to a scandal known to build the four Emirati reactors, which is the use of the South Korean company tasked with building the non-original parts.

The magazine says that a dispute arose between the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and the Korean company due to the replacement of workers.

Building nuclear reactors raises major security concerns because the damage to any accident therein is catastrophic. Mostly it goes beyond the geography of the country that is in the reactor and therefore talk about cracks in the most important veil of radiation leakage.

Talking about using non-original parts increases the fears of the observers, and the design of the reactors at the Al Baraka Emirates site does not include devices to make them safe, including an additional containment device, as well as a device called nucleus holder and is used to prevent radioactive materials in the core of the reactor from leaking to the containment device in case the reactor melts.

Experts say that these devices, which aim to achieve additional safety guarantees, are found in the designs of all modern European reactors.

Forbes says that the UAE is the only customer of the South Korean company that built these reactors and refers, in its interpretation, to the doubts raised by the designs of this company, which tried to build reactors in Turkey, Vietnam and Britain, but to no avail.

Here, experts wonder how a company that does not have periodic experience building nuclear reactors in a sensitive region like the Gulf region, and whether its lack of experience and all the problems presented by Forbes magazine make the region’s residents feel safe in their area.

The UAE announced on Monday, the issuance of an operating license for the first nuclear plant in the country, in preparation for the start of operation of the plant in the middle of next year, after it was postponed several times.

The multi-billion dollar Baraka nuclear plant, built by Korea Electric Power Company (KIPCO), was scheduled to open in 2017, but the start of its first reactor was delayed several times.

The UAE, which is a major oil producer in OPEC, wants to diversify its energy mix by adding nuclear energy to meet the growing demand for electricity and helping to provide more crude for export. The country wants nuclear power to provide six percent of its total energy needs by 2050.

Hamad Al Kaabi, Vice-Chairman of the Authority’s Board of Directors, said during a press conference that the license granted to the plant’s operator, Nawat Power, is for 60 years.

He added that Nawaat can now start preparing for the commercial operations, as the experiments will last for a few months.

Upon completion, Baraka will include four reactors, with a total capacity of 5,600 megawatts, distributed evenly. The Emirates did not disclose the total final investment for the project.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, wrote on his official account on Twitter, “today marks a new chapter in our march to develop peaceful nuclear energy by issuing a license to operate the first (unit in) Baraka station.”

“The license will allow a nucleus to start supplying the reactor with nuclear fuel, which could take anywhere from two to three weeks,” Christer Victorsen, director general of the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Authority, told Reuters.

Then the operating company would need to conduct experiments and could start initial production by May or June this year.

Victorson added that it would take between eight and 12 months to reach the full production capacity of the first reactor if all the experiments went well.

Al-Kaabi said that the construction of the second reactor was “95 percent complete” and that the Federal Nuclear Supervision Authority had begun consideration of an operating license for it.