Can you imagine that all on a sudden you could become a landless person that has been robbed of his family inheritance or property where you had lived for almost half a century? Not only have your parents bought the property legally with all the right legal documents and had the R.S., P.S. and B.S. records listed accordingly in their names, they have been paying all the taxes, revenues and utility bills ever since. It must be your worst nightmare to find that with no notice served against you from either the magistrate or the police, you found your premises attacked by more than a hundred miscreants while the police either won’t come to your rescue or are actually helping the land-grabbing criminals, and your old parents are evicted from their homes. Do these sound fictitious or mythic drawn from the Middle Ages when the only law was – “might is right”? No, if you are living in Bangladesh what I just described is a distinct probability.
My own family became victims of such a land-grabbing scheme in April 9, 2005 when a local land-grabbing criminal named Jaker Chowdhury (a.k.a. Jaker master), armed with more than a hundred miscreants, broke into our 4-acre compound in Khulshi, Chittagong damaging boundary walls, and beating up our guards. They harassed everyone inside including our tenants with threats of rape, torture and demolition unless they vacate our compound. Jaker was backed by a very powerful and influential politician – Salauddin Qader Chowdhury (BNP-MP) who was then Prime Minister’s Adviser on Parliament Affairs. For the next ten weeks, they terrorized my family living in a six-story house “Aranika”, while successfully evicting 16 tenant families, demolishing 11 one-story homes that were built in the early 1960s and cutting down hundreds of teak and Mahogany trees that my father had planted over the preceding 46 years. Unfortunately, we did not get any help from the law enforcing forces. They said, “Our hands are tied!”
My own pleas to Mahmudur Rahman, a favorite technocrat of Madam Khaleda Zia, to have her restrain SaQa were ignored. We could not even get an injunction order issued against the land-grabber! Later I was told by the Commissioner of Dhaka Division that everyone was afraid of SaQa (much like a Mafia Don), and that the only thing I could do to restore my family properties was to have a direct face to face meeting with the powerful politician.
The most saddening part for us was that my mother had a heart surgery only three weeks earlier, and she had to witness the eviction of our tenants in that fateful, rainy day of April. Some of those tenants had lived for more than 25 years. The whole experience was a traumatic experience for all of us, and still to this very day, I have nightmares.
It goes without saying that in today’s Bangladesh land-grabbing has become a big business, albeit a lucrative one, which is often aided by corrupt and greedy politicians. It is a Mafia like operation promising high returns with connections in the Land Deeds & Records Department that help to forge documents and stamps, plus a corrupt judiciary system where sometimes verdicts can be bought in favor of the criminal syndicate, and an equally corrupt police force who may show serious dereliction of duty and betray public trust to seal the immoral land-grab. This accusation should not overlook the fact that there are many honest officers in each of those government institutions and departments. To understand the motivation for a corrupt police officer, I was told by a Police Deputy Commissioner recently that if he could help a land-grabbing criminal dispossess someone from his land that is located in a posh area the monetary benefit promised by the criminal is sufficient for his life; he need not work any more!
The land-grabbing syndicate follows a typical pattern, which may include:
(1) Buy the so-called 'power of attorney', often through illegal money-laundering, from family members of a dead zamindar (who had moved to India after Partition of Pakistan) now living in India. [Note: During the British Raj, while most Muslims were peasants in the aftermath of the Permanent Settlement Act, most of the new zamindars were Hindus in the East Bengal. After partition of India, a large majority of them settled in India];
(2) In that so-called Deed of Power-of-Attorney, deliberately falsify information by showing the “raiyat” (peasant) properties -- tenanted (projabili) land of land-owners -- as part of the zamindari property so as to target such properties for potential land-grab. [Note: the zamindars under the British Raj were responsible for collection of revenues only from the projabili land; such properties never belonged to the zamindar as ‘khas-dakhali’ land. With the passage of the East Bengal Estate Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950, the entire Zamindari system itself was dissolved, all the raiyats were made owners and asked to pay their revenue directly to the Government, while former zamindars were paid adequate compensation by the government for loss of their income];
(3) If the previous two methods could not be employed, falsify land deeds in collaboration with the corrupt officers in the Land Deeds & Records Department to show that the property was bought by or sold to the land-grabbing. It is well known that an official falsified record could be obtained from these vital offices with a payment of approx. 1% of the actual property value;
(4) File 'Partition Suits' on behalf of the dead zamindar family member (who had become Indian citizens) without the knowledge of the real owners and get a verdict in their favor so as to prepare the groundwork for future land-grab with support of government agencies (Note: in these cases, the real owner is not made aware that his/her land is being contested by these attorneys, and as such, are often ill prepared to put up an injunction on time to stop such a court-decreed possession or land-grab by the criminal syndicate);
(5) Grab the property of the legal owner of the (erstwhile) ‘raiyat’ property by evicting him/her and/or his/her tenants with tens/hundreds of criminal cadre behind. In this scheme of things: the local thana is already managed by the land-grabbing syndicate, and the corrupt politician is engaged for his/her support so that the entire criminal project will move smoothly with no action expected to come from the law enforcing agencies; no court order is even served to the affected family who did not know that there was an old case, resurrected from the early Pakistan days, on its property and that the court, without an independent, unbiased inquiry, had already issued an execution case for possession of his/her legally owned and possessed land by the land-grabbing syndicate that had wielded its power of attorney;
(6) In the meantime, sell the property to tens of greedy buyers willing to buy land at prices significantly lower than actual market value, making them all a party to the criminal loot;
(7) Before the actual land-grab, sometimes the legal owner is threatened to pay extortion money (which may run into several crores of Taka), failing which he/she is threatened about the dire consequences of losing his/her entire property on which he/she had been living and paying taxes, revenues, bills, etc. for all these years;
(8) If the aforementioned methods had failed, bribe the judge to issue a favorable verdict in favor of the land-grabbing syndicate;
(9) Upon illegal land-grab, quickly change the face of the property by demolishing old structures/buildings and repopulate the properties with new buyers;
(10) Use connection with powerful, corrupt and greedy politicians, government officers, police and magistrates, etc. to control police and administrative actions against them. (Note: many a times all such people colluding with and aiding the criminal syndicate are promised and delivered a piece of the looted land/apartment/properties.)
Land with its scarcity has become more precious than gold, thus, having a very undesirable, corrupting impact in Bangladeshi society. Forgotten are old words of wisdom behind morality and hard labor. It is befitting here that I share what my father had said in a press conference on April 21, 2005 in the Dhaka Press Club: “It took me more than fifty years of my business life to enrich myself with wealth in a slow and steady way, unlike those few who are becoming or aspiring to become millionaires overnight these days. Forty-seven years ago, when I purchased this property, it had hilly slopes, bushes and jungles. There were no roads, no electricity and no water. For four decades, I improved the place and planted nearly 3000 trees with my own hands, out of which more than a third survived. Being 100% confident of my right-title-interest-and-possession, I could never imagine that within three hours I could be ousted from that same property. It is unfortunate that in our country there are many politically powerful billionaires who can do and undo anything to humble and non-political citizens like me. As a nation, where are we heading?”
I wish things had improved in the last four years. The new civilian government promises digital Bangladesh by 2020, which would require inputs from our talented expatriates. Are we ready for technology transfer? Truly, why should an expatriate return to his/her home and invest there when he/she cannot guarantee safety and security of his/her family or the property bought or inherited legally and the investment made? If it is that difficult for a genuine land-owner to hold onto his properties, with legal papers dating back to 1915, as a new investor, what chance do you have to be able to secure yours? If these be the ground realities of Bangladesh, is there anything we expatriates could do to protect our family properties in Bangladesh?
Our long bitter experience has taught us that it is not possible for a single family to fight against a powerful land-grabbing syndicate. They have the dirty money and the muscle, and a huge cadre of criminals to do their crime, while as a victim you are shorthanded. It is a small investment for them, while as a land-owner you risk everything. Often times you would be pushed to compromise with the criminals.
A concerted effort from the Ministry of Law and Ministry of Home Affairs plus Anti-Corruption Commission is necessary to go after these land-grabbing criminals. Legislators must also enact laws that effectively stop such crimes at the root and punish severely all those linked with such crimes.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Comments: The Pursuit of Nuclear Energy in Bangladesh - Facts and Figures to Consider By Habib Siddiqui
According to a published news report, the Government of Bangladesh is aggressively targeting to set up at least a 1000 MW nuclear power plant in the country within a decade. The official sources say that currently the Bangladesh government has received three preliminary proposals from Russia, China and South Korea.
The news should come as no surprise given the current government’s promise and commitment to mitigate the appalling energy shortage inside the country. With all the added emphasis on limiting harmful greenhouse effects, it is safe to assume that nuclear energy remains a viable option to meeting Bangladesh’s growing energy needs. It has no “carbon footing” and does not cause climate change. On the other hand, its disadvantages involve the unsafe nature of the process and the exhaustibility of its fuel, e.g., uranium for thermal fission reactors and plutonium for breeder reactors (note: the latter material can be used directly to making “dirty” bombs, while the former requires sophisticated concentration before it can be used in a weapon).
As Bangladesh explores her nuclear option, it is important that we have a good understanding of this technology. The processes used in nuclear power industry start with mining. The basic ingredient is uranium which has the advantage of being an enormous source of energy, and it is easily and cheaply transportable. It exists in nature in three isotopes: U-238 (99.284%), U-235 (0.711%) and U-234 (0.005%). The uranium content is referred to as triuranium octaoxide, U3O8., which is the most common (and stable) form found in nature. Uranium dioxide, UO2, is the form in which uranium is most commonly used as a nuclear reactor fuel. At ambient temperatures, UO2 will gradually convert to U3O8.
Currently, the fuel price of U3O8 is around $50/lb. It is highly likely that the price would reach $100/lb with growing demands, which would inevitably trigger more exploration of mines and their profitable recovery. Experts estimate that the global reserve is around 4-5 million tons. At current global consumption of approximately 77,000 tons/year, this reserve will last only for 65 years. This reserves-to-production (R/P) ratio of 65 is well below coal and only 50% more than oil or natural gas.
Today, nuclear energy supplies only 7.5% of the total global energy consumption, corresponding to 17% of the global electricity consumption. With growing concerns on carbon emission, it is safe to assume that this percentage will grow in coming decades. Unlike fossil fuel based energy options, the nuclear industry is only 55 years old with the first plant built in 1954 in the USSR. Since then, some 575 nuclear power plants have been built around the globe, including 125 in the USA. As of 2008, the installed capacity of all the running plants in the world is 413 GW of which 119 GW is in the USA. The actual electric production, however, is only about 300 GW (and approx. 100 GW in the USA) giving an asset utilization of 73% globally (and 84% for the USA). Of all those plants built since 1954, 439 are still operating, 119 have been shut down. However, since decommissioning of nuclear plants is a highly complicated and expensive process, only 17 (of those 119) plants have really been decommissioned. According to an industry expert, Bela Liptak, three nuclear plants were started in 2007, and currently another 35 are under construction (The Future of Nuclear Energy, Control Magazine, March 2009).
In the USA, in the post-Three Mile Island (TMI-2) nuclear accident (1979) period, because of mounting concerns on safety of operation, risk to living beings plus hazards related to safe disposal of nuclear waste, all applications to build nuclear plants were turned down. Of the already built plants, 13 have been permanently shut down, and 10 have completed their decommissioning. Even after all these years, most Americans don’t favor having a nuclear plant built in their neighborhoods.
The total investment to build an average power nuclear plant is estimated to be over $4 billion. (The typical life of a nuclear power plant is 30 to 60 years.) In spite of such high capital costs (and the need to internalize all waste disposal and decommissioning costs), nuclear energy is, in many places, competitive with fossil fuel for electricity generation. If the social, health and environmental costs of fossil fuels are also taken into account, nuclear is outstanding. In this regard, the 2001 report of a major European study of the external costs of various fuel cycles, focusing on coal and nuclear, ExternE, is quite revealing. It shows that in clear cash terms nuclear energy incurs about one tenth of the costs of coal. The external costs are defined as those actually incurred in relation to health and the environment and quantifiable but not built into the cost of the electricity. If these costs were in fact included, the EU price of electricity from coal would double and that from gas would increase 30%. These are without attempting to include global warming. Nuclear energy averages 0.4 euro cents/kWh, much the same as hydro, coal is over 4.0 cents (4.1-7.3), gas ranges 1.3-2.3 cents and only wind shows up better than nuclear, at 0.1-0.2 cents/kWh average. (Note: these are the external costs only.)
As to the overall breakdown of fuel cost, it is worth noting that uranium has to be processed, enriched and fabricated into fuel elements, and about half of the cost is due to enrichment and fabrication. A January 2007 analysis shows that to make 1 kg of Uranium as UO2 reactor fuel, the cost of 8.9 kg of U3O8 is (USD) $472 (@ $53/kg), the conversion cost for processing 7.5 kg of U (@ $12/kg) is $90, the enrichment cost is $985 and fabrication cost is $240. That is, the total cost for 1 kg of Uranium as UO2 reactor fuel is $ 1787. At 360,000 kWh of electrical power per kg, this translates into 0.50 cents/kWh. Now if we assume a 100% increase in U3O8 price, while other costs (processing, enrichment, fabrication) remain the same, the total cost will be $2286, i.e., only a 28% increase in overall price to 0.635 cents/kWh. Even when the costs for radioactive spent fuel and the ultimate disposal of this spent fuel or the wastes separated from it are factored in, the total fuel costs of a nuclear power plant in the OECD are typically about a third of those for a coal-fired plant and between a quarter and a fifth of those for a gas combined-cycle plant.
Fuel costs are one area of steadily increasing efficiency and cost reduction programs. For instance, in Spain nuclear electricity cost was reduced by 29% over 1995-2001. This involved boosting enrichment levels and burn-up to achieve 40% fuel cost reduction. Prospectively, a further 8% increase in burn-up will give another 5% reduction in fuel cost.
For nuclear power plants any cost figure normally includes spent fuel management, plant decommissioning and final waste disposal. Decommissioning costs are about 9-15% of the initial capital cost of a nuclear power plant. The back-end of the fuel cycle, including used fuel storage or disposal in a waste repository, contributes up to another 10% to the overall costs per kWh, - less if there is direct disposal of used fuel rather than reprocessing.
The US cost figures for 2007 published by the Energy Utility Cost Group showed nuclear utility generating costs averaging 2.866 c/kWh, comprising 1.832 c/kWh for operation and maintenance, 0.449 c/kWh for fuel and 0.585 c/kWh for capital expenditure. An EU 2007 study, on the other hand, compared electricity cost (US cents/kWh): 5.4-7.4 for nuclear, 4.7-6.1 for coal, 4.6-6.1 for gas, 4.7-14.8 for wind in-shore, and 8.2-20.2 for wind off-shore. In January 2009, CEZ published cost for new nuclear plants at 6 euro cents/kWh (comprising of 3.8 cents for capital, 1.0 for fixed cost and 1.2 for fuel cost). Nuclear power is very capital-intensive, while fuel costs are relatively much more significant for systems based on fossil fuels.
Any capital cost figure from a nuclear reactor vendor, or which is general and not site-specific, will usually just be for EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) costs. This is because owner's costs will vary depending on whether a plant is new or at an established site, perhaps replacing an old plant.
Long construction periods will push up financing costs, and in the past they have done so dramatically. It used to take eight to ten years to set up a 600-1000 MW power plant in most countries, as it required fulfilling many conditions for a safe and regulated nuclear plant. In Asia construction times have tended to be shorter. For instance, the new-generation 1300 MWe Japanese reactors which began operating in 1996 and 1997 were built in a little over four years, and 48 to 54 months is typical projection for plants today.
As hinted earlier, in terms of energy generation, one kg of natural uranium is equivalent to 20,000 kg of coal. The fuel's contribution to the overall cost of the electricity produced is relatively small, so even a large fuel price escalation will have relatively little effect. For instance, typically a doubling of the uranium market price would increase the fuel cost for a light water reactor by 28% and the electricity cost about 7%, whereas doubling the gas price would typically add 70% to the price of electricity from that source. (This fact is especially important for countries like Bangladesh in coming years with ever declining supply of oil and gas.) There are other possible savings from nuclear fuel. For example, if spent fuel is reprocessed and the recovered plutonium and uranium is used in mixed oxide (MOX) fuel, more energy can be extracted. The costs of achieving this are large, but are offset by MOX fuel not needing enrichment and particularly by the smaller amount of high-level wastes produced at the end.
The safety record of mining, enrichment and fuel fabrication is fairly good. While nuclear fuel preparation is relatively safe, it is not accident-free. Most nuclear accidents occur in the nuclear reactors themselves. The majority of these accidents are caused by design or operator errors involving either the coolant controls or the fuel rod. Radiation leaks can also occur because of earthquakes, poor waste storage practices, ageing or terrorist attacks. The most important goal is to maintain standard operation of the reactor cooling system. Run-away reactions can evolve too quickly, while plant shut down is slow and complicated. Thus, having backup controls and equipment is more important than in other industrial operations.
As Bangladesh evaluates vendor information on nuclear power plants, it is important that her decision makers are fully cognizant of this technology so that the best possible deal can be sealed that protects the interest of our people.
[About the author: Dr. Siddiqui studied the counter-current flow limitation phenomena during a loss-of-coolant-accident in a nuclear power plant as part of his graduate research work in nuclear engineering in the early 1980s in the University of California. He can be reached at saeva@aol.com.]
The news should come as no surprise given the current government’s promise and commitment to mitigate the appalling energy shortage inside the country. With all the added emphasis on limiting harmful greenhouse effects, it is safe to assume that nuclear energy remains a viable option to meeting Bangladesh’s growing energy needs. It has no “carbon footing” and does not cause climate change. On the other hand, its disadvantages involve the unsafe nature of the process and the exhaustibility of its fuel, e.g., uranium for thermal fission reactors and plutonium for breeder reactors (note: the latter material can be used directly to making “dirty” bombs, while the former requires sophisticated concentration before it can be used in a weapon).
As Bangladesh explores her nuclear option, it is important that we have a good understanding of this technology. The processes used in nuclear power industry start with mining. The basic ingredient is uranium which has the advantage of being an enormous source of energy, and it is easily and cheaply transportable. It exists in nature in three isotopes: U-238 (99.284%), U-235 (0.711%) and U-234 (0.005%). The uranium content is referred to as triuranium octaoxide, U3O8., which is the most common (and stable) form found in nature. Uranium dioxide, UO2, is the form in which uranium is most commonly used as a nuclear reactor fuel. At ambient temperatures, UO2 will gradually convert to U3O8.
Currently, the fuel price of U3O8 is around $50/lb. It is highly likely that the price would reach $100/lb with growing demands, which would inevitably trigger more exploration of mines and their profitable recovery. Experts estimate that the global reserve is around 4-5 million tons. At current global consumption of approximately 77,000 tons/year, this reserve will last only for 65 years. This reserves-to-production (R/P) ratio of 65 is well below coal and only 50% more than oil or natural gas.
Today, nuclear energy supplies only 7.5% of the total global energy consumption, corresponding to 17% of the global electricity consumption. With growing concerns on carbon emission, it is safe to assume that this percentage will grow in coming decades. Unlike fossil fuel based energy options, the nuclear industry is only 55 years old with the first plant built in 1954 in the USSR. Since then, some 575 nuclear power plants have been built around the globe, including 125 in the USA. As of 2008, the installed capacity of all the running plants in the world is 413 GW of which 119 GW is in the USA. The actual electric production, however, is only about 300 GW (and approx. 100 GW in the USA) giving an asset utilization of 73% globally (and 84% for the USA). Of all those plants built since 1954, 439 are still operating, 119 have been shut down. However, since decommissioning of nuclear plants is a highly complicated and expensive process, only 17 (of those 119) plants have really been decommissioned. According to an industry expert, Bela Liptak, three nuclear plants were started in 2007, and currently another 35 are under construction (The Future of Nuclear Energy, Control Magazine, March 2009).
In the USA, in the post-Three Mile Island (TMI-2) nuclear accident (1979) period, because of mounting concerns on safety of operation, risk to living beings plus hazards related to safe disposal of nuclear waste, all applications to build nuclear plants were turned down. Of the already built plants, 13 have been permanently shut down, and 10 have completed their decommissioning. Even after all these years, most Americans don’t favor having a nuclear plant built in their neighborhoods.
The total investment to build an average power nuclear plant is estimated to be over $4 billion. (The typical life of a nuclear power plant is 30 to 60 years.) In spite of such high capital costs (and the need to internalize all waste disposal and decommissioning costs), nuclear energy is, in many places, competitive with fossil fuel for electricity generation. If the social, health and environmental costs of fossil fuels are also taken into account, nuclear is outstanding. In this regard, the 2001 report of a major European study of the external costs of various fuel cycles, focusing on coal and nuclear, ExternE, is quite revealing. It shows that in clear cash terms nuclear energy incurs about one tenth of the costs of coal. The external costs are defined as those actually incurred in relation to health and the environment and quantifiable but not built into the cost of the electricity. If these costs were in fact included, the EU price of electricity from coal would double and that from gas would increase 30%. These are without attempting to include global warming. Nuclear energy averages 0.4 euro cents/kWh, much the same as hydro, coal is over 4.0 cents (4.1-7.3), gas ranges 1.3-2.3 cents and only wind shows up better than nuclear, at 0.1-0.2 cents/kWh average. (Note: these are the external costs only.)
As to the overall breakdown of fuel cost, it is worth noting that uranium has to be processed, enriched and fabricated into fuel elements, and about half of the cost is due to enrichment and fabrication. A January 2007 analysis shows that to make 1 kg of Uranium as UO2 reactor fuel, the cost of 8.9 kg of U3O8 is (USD) $472 (@ $53/kg), the conversion cost for processing 7.5 kg of U (@ $12/kg) is $90, the enrichment cost is $985 and fabrication cost is $240. That is, the total cost for 1 kg of Uranium as UO2 reactor fuel is $ 1787. At 360,000 kWh of electrical power per kg, this translates into 0.50 cents/kWh. Now if we assume a 100% increase in U3O8 price, while other costs (processing, enrichment, fabrication) remain the same, the total cost will be $2286, i.e., only a 28% increase in overall price to 0.635 cents/kWh. Even when the costs for radioactive spent fuel and the ultimate disposal of this spent fuel or the wastes separated from it are factored in, the total fuel costs of a nuclear power plant in the OECD are typically about a third of those for a coal-fired plant and between a quarter and a fifth of those for a gas combined-cycle plant.
Fuel costs are one area of steadily increasing efficiency and cost reduction programs. For instance, in Spain nuclear electricity cost was reduced by 29% over 1995-2001. This involved boosting enrichment levels and burn-up to achieve 40% fuel cost reduction. Prospectively, a further 8% increase in burn-up will give another 5% reduction in fuel cost.
For nuclear power plants any cost figure normally includes spent fuel management, plant decommissioning and final waste disposal. Decommissioning costs are about 9-15% of the initial capital cost of a nuclear power plant. The back-end of the fuel cycle, including used fuel storage or disposal in a waste repository, contributes up to another 10% to the overall costs per kWh, - less if there is direct disposal of used fuel rather than reprocessing.
The US cost figures for 2007 published by the Energy Utility Cost Group showed nuclear utility generating costs averaging 2.866 c/kWh, comprising 1.832 c/kWh for operation and maintenance, 0.449 c/kWh for fuel and 0.585 c/kWh for capital expenditure. An EU 2007 study, on the other hand, compared electricity cost (US cents/kWh): 5.4-7.4 for nuclear, 4.7-6.1 for coal, 4.6-6.1 for gas, 4.7-14.8 for wind in-shore, and 8.2-20.2 for wind off-shore. In January 2009, CEZ published cost for new nuclear plants at 6 euro cents/kWh (comprising of 3.8 cents for capital, 1.0 for fixed cost and 1.2 for fuel cost). Nuclear power is very capital-intensive, while fuel costs are relatively much more significant for systems based on fossil fuels.
Any capital cost figure from a nuclear reactor vendor, or which is general and not site-specific, will usually just be for EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) costs. This is because owner's costs will vary depending on whether a plant is new or at an established site, perhaps replacing an old plant.
Long construction periods will push up financing costs, and in the past they have done so dramatically. It used to take eight to ten years to set up a 600-1000 MW power plant in most countries, as it required fulfilling many conditions for a safe and regulated nuclear plant. In Asia construction times have tended to be shorter. For instance, the new-generation 1300 MWe Japanese reactors which began operating in 1996 and 1997 were built in a little over four years, and 48 to 54 months is typical projection for plants today.
As hinted earlier, in terms of energy generation, one kg of natural uranium is equivalent to 20,000 kg of coal. The fuel's contribution to the overall cost of the electricity produced is relatively small, so even a large fuel price escalation will have relatively little effect. For instance, typically a doubling of the uranium market price would increase the fuel cost for a light water reactor by 28% and the electricity cost about 7%, whereas doubling the gas price would typically add 70% to the price of electricity from that source. (This fact is especially important for countries like Bangladesh in coming years with ever declining supply of oil and gas.) There are other possible savings from nuclear fuel. For example, if spent fuel is reprocessed and the recovered plutonium and uranium is used in mixed oxide (MOX) fuel, more energy can be extracted. The costs of achieving this are large, but are offset by MOX fuel not needing enrichment and particularly by the smaller amount of high-level wastes produced at the end.
The safety record of mining, enrichment and fuel fabrication is fairly good. While nuclear fuel preparation is relatively safe, it is not accident-free. Most nuclear accidents occur in the nuclear reactors themselves. The majority of these accidents are caused by design or operator errors involving either the coolant controls or the fuel rod. Radiation leaks can also occur because of earthquakes, poor waste storage practices, ageing or terrorist attacks. The most important goal is to maintain standard operation of the reactor cooling system. Run-away reactions can evolve too quickly, while plant shut down is slow and complicated. Thus, having backup controls and equipment is more important than in other industrial operations.
As Bangladesh evaluates vendor information on nuclear power plants, it is important that her decision makers are fully cognizant of this technology so that the best possible deal can be sealed that protects the interest of our people.
[About the author: Dr. Siddiqui studied the counter-current flow limitation phenomena during a loss-of-coolant-accident in a nuclear power plant as part of his graduate research work in nuclear engineering in the early 1980s in the University of California. He can be reached at saeva@aol.com.]
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Our Mission
Bangladesh Expatriate Council (BEC) is a non-political and non-partisan organization, made up of expatriates from Bangladesh who care deeply about Bangladesh by becoming active citizens in their respective adopted countries for the purpose of guaranteeing that their voices and concerns are heard and acted upon by governments. Its main purpose is to work as an advocacy group for its expatriate community. It is run by the expatriates and for the interest of the expatriates.
• Its aim is not to divide but to strengthen the expatriate community.
• Its aim is to make a better Bangladesh that we all can feel proud of.
As such, we work together with people of all religions and ethnicities, as well as with other citizens of the world who agree with our mission and with our ideals.
Today, Bangladeshi Expatriates need to play an active role not just where they are currently settled as citizens but also in Bangladesh. If we are going to be able to change policy and influence decisions that affect our people, it is imperative that we cooperate with each other on commonalities that tie us together.
We are driven by the belief that Bangladesh expects better from its talented and highly skilled expatriate community that has settled in various parts of our planet.
We have a right and a responsibility to be involved in the world around us, especially matters that happen in Bangladesh. We simply cannot shut our eyes to what happens in Bangladesh. That involvement includes community, social and political action (without being looked upon as being partisans).
• Its aim is not to divide but to strengthen the expatriate community.
• Its aim is to make a better Bangladesh that we all can feel proud of.
As such, we work together with people of all religions and ethnicities, as well as with other citizens of the world who agree with our mission and with our ideals.
Today, Bangladeshi Expatriates need to play an active role not just where they are currently settled as citizens but also in Bangladesh. If we are going to be able to change policy and influence decisions that affect our people, it is imperative that we cooperate with each other on commonalities that tie us together.
We are driven by the belief that Bangladesh expects better from its talented and highly skilled expatriate community that has settled in various parts of our planet.
We have a right and a responsibility to be involved in the world around us, especially matters that happen in Bangladesh. We simply cannot shut our eyes to what happens in Bangladesh. That involvement includes community, social and political action (without being looked upon as being partisans).
What we care about?
We are expatriates from Bangladesh who now live outside the country. Many of us are now settled in the USA. We are engaged in various professions. We care very deeply about Bangladesh and would like to see good for people living there. We are willing to cooperate with anyone interested in helping Bangladesh.
Aims and purpose of the Bangladesh Expatriate Council
Its main purpose is to work as an advocacy group for its expatriate community. It is run by the expatriates and for the interest of the expatriates. Its aim is to make a better Bangladesh that we all can feel proud of. As such, we work together with people of all religions and ethnic backgrounds, as well as with other citizens of the world who agree with our mission and with our ideals.
Today, Bangladeshi Expatriates need to play an active role not just where they are currently settled as citizens but also in Bangladesh. If we are going to be able to change policy and influence decisions that affect our people, it is imperative that we cooperate with each other on commonalities that tie us together. We are driven by the belief that Bangladesh expects better from its talented and highly skilled expatriate community that has settled in various parts of our planet. We have a right and a responsibility to be involved in the world around us, especially matters that happen in Bangladesh. We simply cannot shut our eyes to what happens in Bangladesh. That involvement includes community, social and political action (without being looked upon as being partisans). Effective citizen activism begins with the knowledge that Bangladesh is in a dire state of its existence and needs improvement at every stratum – governmental and non-governmental - to break down its vicious cycle of corruption, violence, incompetence, cronyism, patronage, and complexities of politics. Such activism also includes conveying those issues clearly that are important to our community. BEC works at providing critical education and information to the expatriate community in order to advocate for causes that matter, and challenge and equip individuals and sister/brother organizations to make a difference at all levels of government and non-government organizational (NGO) activities. To that end, we continuously work to identify, educate and mobilize our expatriate community for effective political action! Such actions will preserve, protect and defend our humane values that define our humanity, and hopefully make our planet a better place to share for our posterity.
Today, Bangladeshi Expatriates need to play an active role not just where they are currently settled as citizens but also in Bangladesh. If we are going to be able to change policy and influence decisions that affect our people, it is imperative that we cooperate with each other on commonalities that tie us together. We are driven by the belief that Bangladesh expects better from its talented and highly skilled expatriate community that has settled in various parts of our planet. We have a right and a responsibility to be involved in the world around us, especially matters that happen in Bangladesh. We simply cannot shut our eyes to what happens in Bangladesh. That involvement includes community, social and political action (without being looked upon as being partisans). Effective citizen activism begins with the knowledge that Bangladesh is in a dire state of its existence and needs improvement at every stratum – governmental and non-governmental - to break down its vicious cycle of corruption, violence, incompetence, cronyism, patronage, and complexities of politics. Such activism also includes conveying those issues clearly that are important to our community. BEC works at providing critical education and information to the expatriate community in order to advocate for causes that matter, and challenge and equip individuals and sister/brother organizations to make a difference at all levels of government and non-government organizational (NGO) activities. To that end, we continuously work to identify, educate and mobilize our expatriate community for effective political action! Such actions will preserve, protect and defend our humane values that define our humanity, and hopefully make our planet a better place to share for our posterity.
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