MUMBAI: Grim days await the world nuclear industry because of the global pandemic, and it may take time to recover, a Paris-based nuclear energy consultant, Mycle Schneider, warned.
Schneider, who was appointed member of International Panel on Fissile Material, gave this warning during the release of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2020, on Thursday evening. He is the lead author of the report.
Underscoring the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global nuclear industry, he called out some worries, like: working conditions in many units have deteriorated; operators in some countries were left without any physical regulatory oversight as inspectors stayed home which halted virtually all physical site inspections; delay in building nuclear reactors in at least 12 countries, and lack of systematic national reporting system.
“Workers walked off at some of the nuclear plants in France and the UK because they felt their health and safety were not appropriately protected and there were dramatic reduction in staff levels,’’ he said.
Thanks to Covid-19, there have been delays in refuelling and maintenance of many nuclear plants, Schneider said.
