S1E77: How safe and green is nuclear energy now that it's an option for S’pore: Green Pulse

May 15, 2022

19:16

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Synopsis: Every first and third Monday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.

Nuclear energy is a controversial source of energy that is gaining prominence globally, including in Singapore as a potential solution to tackling climate change. Nuclear is considered a clean form of energy as the generation process does not release any greenhouse gases, unlike the traditional mode of energy generation from burning fossil fuels.

But following the nuclear disasters in Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011, how safe is this form of energy now? In this episode, The Straits Times environment correspondent Audrey Tan and climate change editor David Fogarty discuss these questions with Dr Matthew Lloyd, a research fellow at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, who does research on materials that can be used in the nuclear process.

Read the article here: https://str.sg/wBTR

Highlights of conversation (click/tap above):

01:13 How do nuclear reactions generate energy?

03:30 Why is nuclear energy considered clean, and how safe is it?

10:10 Why is nuclear fusion considered safer than fission?

13:35 How do small modular reactors contribute to safety of nuclear energy?

15:56 Are rising energy prices causing countries to warm to the idea of nuclear power?

Produced by: Audrey Tan (audreyt@sph.com.sg), David Fogarty (dfogarty@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Eden Soh

Edited by: Hadyu Rahim

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