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Published on February 24, 2008

According to Dr Somporn Chongkum, 58, a nuclear physicist by training, nuclear technology has a more diverse range of useful applications than is generally understood.

However, the executive director of the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology (TINT) agrees that the term nuclear often conjures up dreadful images, largely due to the use of atomic bombs in the Second World War in 1945.

In Thailand, the Office of Atomic Energy for Peace (later Office of Atoms for Peace) was set up in 1961. The country got its first nuclear research reactor the following year.

"As for TINT, it was set up only in 2006 with the objective of promoting R&D as well as nuclear technology transfer.

"TINT also operates the research reactor at our headquarters in Bangkok and provides consultant services on various applications of nuclear technology.

"When we talk about nuclear energy, we generally mean fission, fusion, radioisotope and accelerator. Fission is the process currently used in nuclear power plants etc, while radioisotopes are used in medical, industrial, oil refining, pulp and paper and other sectors.

"Fusion is not yet used but it could be applicable in the future for massive power generation. As for accelerators, [they are] evident in the use of X-rays, electron, cyclotron and synchrotron.

"We could say that nuclear energy is immensely useful but it can also be [used] as a devastating weapon. In Thailand, 600 medical, industrial, educational and other facilities have radioactive equipment plus another 8,000 X-ray machines," said Somporn, who earned a PhD in nuclear physics from Germany's Karlsruhe University in 1987.

"Economically, nuclear technology is used in the food industry, which brings an annual Bt30 billion into the country. Last year, TINT started to use its latest know-how to kill germs in mangoes, longan, lychees, rambutan and mangosteen for exports to the US market."

Previously, these fruits were barred from the US market because US authorities said there were as many as 40 germs in Thai mangoes, for instance, so the produce needed to treated before it is shipped out.

"Now, we could expect food, fruit and other produce exports to the US to top an annual 30,000 tonnes.

"In addition, we provide a quality-enhancement service for semi-precious stones such as topaz, tourmaline and quartz for the jewellery export industry.

"Now, we can handle an annual 15 tons or about 75 million karats of semi-precious stones.

"In the industrial sector, we serve more than 290 factories, including big oil refineries, since we can help them measure the amounts of various products in the oil-refining towers using our technology.

"In agriculture, we can help improve the quality of hom mali rice, watermelon and yellow lotus varieties grown in Thailand.

"In medicine, the technology is used in radiopharmaceuticals, imaging, tomography and some cancer drugs.

"In the energy sector, we're preparing the infrastructure to build the country's first nuclear power plants with an annual capacity of 4,000 megawatts.

"That proposed capacity will account for 9 per cent of the country's electricity demands when the plants are operational in 2020," said Somporn, who also heads a government body preparing human resources and technology infrastructure for the proposed power plants.

On safety, Somporn says the Chernobyl catastrophe in the former Soviet Union, which scared the world as far as the use of nuclear energy is concerned, was a scientific mishap as researchers attempted to conduct experiments, the consequences of which were beyond their control.

As for the Three Mile Island incident in the US, it is clear that the safety features there worked and there were no fatalities.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

nop1122@yahoo.com

The Nation