SA shifts nuclear focus

Cape Town - The process of large-scale restructuring at the pebble bed modular reactor company, PBMR - through which up to 75% of the more than 800 workers could lose their jobs - is to begin and could last about two months.

PBMR spokesperson Tom Ferreira says that the staff is expected to be absorbed by institutions like Eskom, the Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), private local nuclear engineering companies such as Lesedi Nuclear Services, and other local engineering companies.

A small number of employees with specific nuclear-power expertise will be retained to continue the PBMR's work.

Ferreira denies that the resignation by chief executive Jaco Kriek this week was directly related to government's decision to cease large-scale financial support to the PBMR project after the end of this month.

Dr Alex Tsela, general manager of nuclear compliance assurance at the PBMR, has been appointed acting chief executive in Kriek's place.

Kriek, a qualified chartered accountant, said in a statement that he wished to investigate further opportunities in the energy industry after returning from leave. He has headed the PBMR for six years. For the next couple of months he will continue to help with certain PBMR activities.

The Department of Public Enterprises, under whose wing the PBMR falls, previously said that attempts would be made to prevent the skills developed in the company being lost to South Africa.

It appears that South Africa has decided to focus on conventional technology for its envisaged nuclear-power programme, rather than the PBMR's experimental helium-cooled high-temperature pebble bed technology.

Eskom is busy with an environmental impact study for its first new 4 000MW nuclear power plant at the existing Koeberg station, at Bantamsklip near Pearly Beach on the Overberg coast, or at Thyspunt near St Francis bay in the Eastern Cape. A draft environmental impact report has recently been completed.

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