A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE NUCLEAR DETAILS AT THYSPUNT

The technology to be used is Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) technology.
The EIA has been done to meet the standards of Generation 3 technology.
This EIA provides for a capacity of 4,000 MW only, should Eskom want to increase this, a new EIA will have to be done.
Although Eskom has expressed the desire to start construction in 2011, this is highly unlikely given the various other permits that would be required and the excavation of the Heritage site along the coast, which needs to be completed before they can proceed.
Low and Medium Waste will be transported in sealed drums to Vaalputs for storage.
High Waste will be sealed and kept on site as there is no facility in SA to cater for this.

Thyspunt is the preferred site as it is the most suitable (of the 3 sites considered) from a seismic point of view and also easy access into the grid.

A Desalination Plant will be built on site to cater for all the water requirements during the building process and later for the operation of the plant.

From an Environmental perspective Thyspunt is the least suitable site; however the experts seem to think they can mitigate this.
Tourism is quoted as likely to experience a 7.86% negative impact during the building process and a 0% impact after completion; however this appears to be of little importance in the EIA.

The Access Road to Thyspunt will be the R330 which comes past the entrance to St. Francis Bay and continues just past Sea Vista and will then veer off to the right towards Thyspunt.

Arcus Gibb has quoted 100 heavy duty trucks and 850 vehicles on the access road per day. Vehicles will work in shifts 24hrs per day.
7700 people will be employed during the construction period. 25% of this will be unskilled labour recruited from the Greater St. Francis Area i.e. St. Francis, Cape St. Francis, Humansdorp, Jeffreys Bay and Oyster Bay.

CONCERNS RAISED BY THE COMMUNITY

Why is Thypunt being considered when all the Power is required in the PE and East London area?
Proposed sites selected about 30 years ago and not based on the socio economic realities of today.
When assessing suitability the odds were stacked in favour of the Developer and not the community. Economically Thyspunt (according to AG) is the preferred site; however all the environmental and social issues find it to be the least favoured site.
The access road would be hugely detrimental to St. Francis Bay and Cape St. Francis.

It would destroy Tourism; especially given it takes 7 – 9yrs to build. Another access point needs to be used.

Grave concerns about the influx of people to SFB in the hope of getting work and then staying on.
No infrastructure to cope with this quantity of people – another Mossell Bay.
Very few actual jobs for the local population. About 400 jobs per town if divided equally.
Very little importance placed on social impact on our local population and little can be done to mitigate the negative impacts.
The EIA even had the prevailing wind direction incorrect which makes a huge difference to the outcome.
Grave concern about building on a sensitive dune field.
Concern over the destruction of a pristine tourist destination, with tourism and related industries being the lifeblood of the community.
No clarification yet on emissions.
Many errors in the reports despite these errors being pointed out repeatedly. Examples are wind direction, distance of communities from Thyspunt and population densities.
Sea Vista School cannot be constructed as it falls within the 10km radius from Thyspunt.

THE WAY FORWARD

The Thyspunt Alliance is a group formed from all concerned parties in the area and they are consulting an Environmental Lawyer to assist them in their fight against Eskom.
The Thyspunt Alliance has found several flaws in the EIA and will submit strong objections to this.
The Residents Association are not opposed to Nuclear Power, but have grave concerns about the positioning of this particular Plant and how it will negatively affect the area.
We urge all concerned parties and members of the public to submit objections to Acer for attention Bongi Shinga – nuclear1@acerafrica.co.za or Public Participation Office, Nuclear 1 EIA, P.O. Box 503, Mtunzini, 3867. You have until 10th May to do this.
To read the full details of the EIA, go to www.gibb.co.za (go to service offerings, then projects EIA) and www.eskom.co.za/eia.
If you are concerned about any of the issues mentioned above, it is now your opportunity to do something about it. So act now!!!