The development of nuclear technology in the Middle East could pose a risk to public safety, an international energy expert said yesterday.
UK-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) for Defence and Security Studies representative Cornelia Meyer said the infrastructure associated with such developments were susceptible to terrorist attacks and military action.
She said energy industry already suffers 1,000 major incidents a year, including attacks on pipelines and 3,000 other less serious crimes.
"The threat has changed and it is there and given everything that is going on it (the Middle East) is right in the bullseye," said Ms Meyer.
"There are industry restraints and international ramifications and once you start a nuclear power operation it will come under suspicion and your neighbours will feel less secure.
"Then once you have it there is a whole load of things that you are going to have to deal with such as proliferation and nuclear waste."
Ms Meyer said no nuclear technology programme should be carried out without an in-depth risk assessment and an Environment, Health, Safety and Security (EHSS) evaluation.
She was speaking at one of the final sessions of the Middle East: Homeland and Global Security Forum, at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa.
Ms Meyer had been invited to talk about the shift to nuclear energy in the region and the implications on security, nuclear proliferation and waste management.
Egypt's Nuclear Energy Agency advisor Dr Sayyed Baheyy Aldin Abdul Alhamid told delegates the world must come up with a reliable energy source to reduce the effects on greenhouse gases.
But he added nuclear energy required the reformation of global thinking to co-operation at regional and international levels.
Via: Gulf Daily News|By GEOFFREY BEW
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