Bataan nuclear plant safe to revive – PNRI

MANILA, Philippines — The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) can still operate safely despite being mothballed for decades, an official of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) claimed amid plans of the government yet again to revive the plant.

In a radio interview on Sunday, PNRI Director Carlo Arcilla said a disaster similar to what happened in Chernobyl in 1986 would not happen in the BNPP. PNRI is an agency under the Department of Science and Technology.

According to Arcilla, the Chernobyl power plant’s design was different from the BNPP’s, which has a containment structure should a nuclear leak accident occur.

The Chernobyl plant used four Soviet-designed RBMK-1000 nuclear reactors—a design now universally recognized as inherently flawed.

Former President Corazon Aquino disallowed the operation of the 621-megawatt BNPP in 1986 due to safety concerns.

—Dexter Cabalza