LETTER: Threats posed by Koeberg are worrying

Shortly before the holiday period Business Day published two articles on the subject of the Koeberg nuclear power station, the first by a commentator who is well versed in this extremely complex form of power and the second covering the ins and outs of whether Koeberg’s life could be safely extended (“Regulator confirms timeline for Koeberg life-extension decisions”, December 4, and “A perfect storm for a nuclear accident is brewing at Koeberg”, December 6).

I found the second article extremely worrying due to all the information about the genuine threats posed by Koeberg in its present state. I was living in Prague when Chernobyl blew up on April 26 1986 near the city of Pripyat in the north of Ukraine. With all the secrecy and cover-up by the Soviet Union, the then chair of the Council of State for Poland, Wojciech Jaruzelski, chose to ignore instructions from the USSR that no news was to be released to the public. He went on television to warn his people to stay indoors and to not let their children play outside or drink milk.

The world, now having seen the reality of a nuclear meltdown, would surely take heed. He was a formidable man, leader of the Polish military but not well liked. However, he chose to consider the welfare of the Polish people over and above the instructions he had received from the leaders of the communist world.

Now that I am living in the Western Cape, I wish our leaders would be as caring about their population. They must do whatever is right and safe concerning the future of the Koeberg nuclear plant. 

Lee Roethlisberger
Claremont

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