Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
REP. Mark Cojuangco, the chairman of the House Committee on Nuclear Energy, has suggested that radioactive waste from a future nuclear energy plant be stored on Pag-asa Island. According to Cojuangco, who represents Pangasinan's second district, Palawan is the most stable geologic area in the country "because it is part of the continental shelf" (Palawan News/ANC). Pag-asa Island, with a population of about 200, is located some 500 kilometers from mainland Palawan. By storing the nuclear waste on Pag-asa, Cojuangco explained, the Philippines could exert its sovereignty and create economic activity for the local community. The congressman also said that the next generation — Generation 4 — nuclear reactors will be able to utilize today's spent fuel rods. We just need to store the waste until such time.
Using Pag-asa Island as a storage site for nuclear waste is not a new idea. It was discussed by Carlo Arcilla, the director of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), on June 9, 2022 in an interview on GMA's "24 Oras": "Ang Pag-asa Island kasi di ba inaangkin nung isang bansa d'yan? Eh kung lagyan mo ng nuclear waste, angkinin pa kaya nila (Pag-asa Island is being claimed by a certain country, right? If you put nuclear waste there, would it still be interested in the area)?" According to the same news report, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had no objections to this plan. The Department of Energy (DoE), however, pointed out the likely opposition from the local residents and the high cost of constructing and maintaining a "deep geological disposal facility."
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