Could you please introduce yourself?
My name is Bilge Demirköz. I am a Professor, Director of Research and Application Center for Space and Accelerator Technologies in Middle East Technical University.
What are the main technical and engineering challenges in building a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan?
I have visited the Kazakhstan nuclear agency in February and it was a really wonderful visit. I visited your experimental nuclear reactor which are active in Almaty. And it was a real pleasure to meet the experts there and to see the deep understanding of nuclear physics that exist in. Kazakhstan has a long history of understanding nuclear energy and understanding the physics behind nuclear power. As you had a nuclear power plant back in the soviet days as well as the unfortunate experience of the nuclear test sites. For which I am truly very sorry for the Kazakh people. I think the Kazakh people are quite aware all the dangerous of the nuclear power but as the world leading source of nuclear fuel it is advantage to use these natural resources as yourselves.
Now my perspective as a physic who works not on the nuclear power plant design but on the technical aspects of measuring the radiation levels coming out of a nuclear plant. So that`s why I work on the safety aspect and have some patterns on measuring the radiation out of the nuclear power plants and one has to be of course extremely rigid when it comes to safety requirements. It is not a physics question but rather an engineering and safety and control issue. So how do you make sure that power plant such as this will be, firstly it has to be sustainable, secondly it has to be safe and thirdly it has to be beneficial for the people in the long run. So these are I think the most important aspects which I am sure that Kazakh nuclear agency can handle. I have met great experts there who clearly know what they are doing. And we are very exited about the prospects of power plant in Kazakhstan. As we are building the first NPP in Turkey this provides of course security from the perspective of the energy resources in Turkey. It provides the flatline under which we put solar power wind power and other renewable sources but this flatline is important for the electrical safety of the country. I think Kazakhstan is very aware. In Turkey we are also becoming very aware of climate change issues. This summer has been the hottest ever in Turkey and we are worried about the security of water suppliers food shortages. So to have less worry about energy securities important for a country like Kazakhstan and Turkey I think we are quite similar in this aspect. So I think this advantage out ways a lot of the concerns. Because those concerns such the lowering of the water level in the Kazakh lake which l know a bit important issue for nuclear power plant because the NPP have to be close to water source. These can be negotiated with intern agreements and hopefully these worries can be mitigated against a carbon neutral nuclear reactor which can sustain the Kazakh economy in the medium term.
Can you comment about economic benefits of construction NPP?
The main economic benefit is to provide a backdrop against other power resources which are affected by the wind power. Of course Kazakhstan has a lot of natural gas will run out one day as we are quite aware. So this provides a safe line and it makes like a safety net for the industrial power. And if you want foreign investments you have to show them that you have constant power right. It is also important aspect to draw in foreign investments to show that you have energy supply that consistent. It makes your country more attractive if the energy supply is well established and with a growing economy and a population like in Kazakhstan with great minds, these technical issues can be solved with vigilance. I think it is a positive development for Kazakhstan.
How has been the representation women in the nuclear science has changed over the years and what may be programs are the most encouraging for women to pursue the nuclear science over the world ?
I think this is a slow progress in this field. Women have not historically been involved in this field. Although the field was started by a woman. Marie Curie was the first person who died from radiation on this planet. Her notebooks were not be accessible for another hundred years. But unfortunately after there has not been many women allowed in this field. And I think it goes back to the history. The weapon aspect that made it grow is the reason that the field is dominated still by the men. This is obviously changing I have half of my group is female. And when I came to Kazakhstan I was very happy to see that almost half of people studying physics in Nazarbayev or Satpayev universities are female. I think it is changing. It takes time. I think we will reach male female equality in research. I mean all across the physics
How do you see the emerging technologies contribute to the sustainability and deficiency of nuclear power used?
As I am a young global leader of the world economic forum and these things are discussed in the forum how the sustainability a new technologies nuclear science can combat the climate change. In the last 15 thousands years we have never seen the temperature variations of the scale around the planet. I think the first thing on people`s mind is that you have an economy and the economy is built on natural resources. But these natural resources with climate change can change, and if the change the economy may not be viable at all. So I think the nuclear power is a very safe route. I mean I looking at all these technologies, at solar power, wind power, geo thermal power. All these are different spectrum of energies, each of them have their separate drawbacks.
If you look at solar power. The end of life cycle is actually quite, the materials in solar cells degrade, these particles can then go into the environment and cause problem for human beings. For example sand makes allergies in our lungs. I think you have to look at advantages and disadvantages of each energy source. That is why many countries are now trying to divest into many different sources as possible.