VLISSINGEN // A tapestry adorns a concrete wall that separates a decade’s worth of radioactive waste from the population of the Netherlands.
It is a reproduction of a 17th-century weaving of a naval battle from the Dutch war of independence. A golden sun marks the spot on the panorama where, now, the by-products of nuclear power plants and medical research reactors are sequestered in concrete warehouses.
The organisation charged with managing the Netherlands’ nuclear waste has also waged a campaign – not against an imperial power, but with public opinion. Its primary weapon? Art.
The Central Organisation for Radioactive Waste, also known as Covra, has persuaded museums to store works of art just feet from barrels of nuclear waste, hired an artist to conceptualise a facility for spent fuel and once hosted a theatre performance in a secure zone – all part of its plan to make the public feel safe.
“The big problem with radiation is you can’t hear, see or feel it. That makes it mysterious to people and therefore dangerous,” says Dr Ewoud Verhoef, Covra’s deputy director. “Safety is not only technical – it’s something emotional.”
The experience of the Netherlands in addressing public fears about the nuclear industry holds lessons for Abu Dhabi as it builds the Gulf region’s first nuclear power plant. By the time all four reactors in the US$20 billion (Dh73.45bn) plant are running, Abu Dhabi is expected to draw as much as a quarter of its power from nuclear energy, part of its plan to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and cut carbon emissions.
Abu Dhabi wants to win its own public opinion campaign as it gets its first reactors running in the next seven years.
Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, the Government’s nuclear power company, began the process last year with town hall-style meetings in the capital and near the proposed site in the Western Region. Residents posed questions to engineers and went home with plastic models of the uranium pellets that are to fuel the reactors.
Making the unseen tangible has long been part of the strategy in the Netherlands, where every year Covra throws open its doors to thousands of visitors including high school students and Greenpeace activists.
Covra is a two-hour drive south of Amsterdam in an industrial centre on the southern coast. Two kilometres past the nation’s only active nuclear plant, an orange building beckons.
Neon-green letters on its 1.7-metre-thick walls spell out E = mc2, the equation from the physicist Albert Einstein that is considered the foundation of nuclear technology. The Dutch artist behind the idea of co-locating art and nuclear waste has arranged for the walls to be repainted a lighter shade each year, with the colour being transformed to white over a century to represent the long process of radioactive decay.
“We not only built the safest place in the Netherlands but also the biggest piece of art,” says Dr Verhoef. “Waste management is an emotionally charged subject. That’s why we use art as a way to communicate, because with art you can reach that section of the population. “That’s something that is often forgotten in the nuclear industry. That’s something that Greenpeace is doing a better job of, because they add the emotion.”
Dutch authorities hope that by 2103 the country will amass the funds for a long-term geological repository, which they estimate will cost €2bn (Dh10.51bn) in today’s cash. The Netherlands, which draws just 4 per cent of its electricity from nuclear power, shares a dilemma with other countries that have small amounts of radioactive waste but lack funds for costly underground storage.
Covra’s high-level waste building, by contrast, cost about €125 million, most of that funded by the producers of the waste at universities and the state utility.
If the lifetime of the Dutch nuclear plant is extended and research reactors commit more funds, another €25m to €50m could be invested to increase storage. For now, Covra manages some 10,000 cubic metres of waste, some of it in the orange building for highly radioactive material and the rest next door in a building for low to medium-level waste.
Garage-like rooms there each hold a decade’s worth of waste in stacked concrete barrels. In one room, the naval battle tapestry hangs near cages holding artefacts from museums.
“Our own enthusiasm for technology and safety assessments isn’t enough to bridge the gap with the general population,” says Dr Verhoef.
“If you put museum collections and radioactive waste in the same room, that puts it on a human scale.”
Among the items in the cages are gold-framed paintings, a Remington Standard typewriter and Victorian dolls.
One museum has deposited a grandfather clock, its pendulum now motionless.
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Five expert hiking tips
- Always check the weather forecast before setting off
- Make sure you have plenty of water
- Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
- Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
- Take your litter home with you
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Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
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'Cheb%20Khaled'
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Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Company%20Profile
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McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Financial considerations before buying a property
Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
“If it’s a rental property, plan for the property to have periods when it does not have a tenant. Ensure you have enough cash set aside to pay the mortgage and other costs during these periods, ideally at least six months,” she says.
Also, shop around for the best mortgage interest rate. Understand the terms and conditions, especially what happens after any introductory periods, Ms Glynn adds.
Using a good mortgage broker is worth the investment to obtain the best rate available for a buyer’s needs and circumstances. A good mortgage broker will help the buyer understand the terms and conditions of the mortgage and make the purchasing process efficient and easier.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km