Does South A?rica's nuclear industry deserve to survive?

Abstract

Given the hi?torical record of the nuclear industry, its massive subsidisation, the secrecy within which it has operated, and the commitment it made to the apartheid regime's weapons programme, does it deserve to survive into a post-apartheid era? The paper outlines various options and argues for drastic reform of the Atomic Energy Corporation (AEC) and a serious re-evaluation of Eskom's nuclear programme. It also suggests a recall conference in five years to monitor and evaluate progress in implementing some of these reforms.

This paper was presented to the Conference on nuclear policy for a democratic South Africa on 11–13 February 1994, Cape Town, South Africa.