WHAT PERSPECTIVES WILL NUCLEAR ENERGY BRING FOR KAZAKHSTAN?

Energy in today's world is fundamental to everything. Nothing at the moment can do without electricity. This research is intended to study the possible impact of nuclear energy on Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan, in turn, is a very rich country in materials. As reported by the World Nuclear Association, in 2021 Kazakhstan produced almost 22 thousand tons of uranium and is currently the 2nd country in the world in terms of uranium production, that is, Kazakhstan can become a more than suitable country for the development of nuclear energy in it.

My topic is very much based on the opinion of citizens - that is, the majority. This is why a survey was ideal as a method of collecting information for my research. Finding out what people think about nuclear energy and its future in the world in Kazakhstan was my main goal in this survey, and I was able to find out the information I wanted. 

The survey was taken from residents of the city of Aktobe. Students of NIS, other schools and ordinary citizens of Kazakhstan took part in this survey of 7 questions about the newly developing field. In total, 102 votes were collected during the information collection process.

The next significant question was what benefits Kazakhstan could receive with the development of the nuclear industry. This was a multiple-choice question and half of the votes received were that Kazakhstan could improve international relations by connecting with countries in development. The other half is split slightly less equally with 29% believing it will lead to economic growth and 21% believing it will improve their standard of living.

Figure 1. Diagram No.1

Regarding the problems that may come with the development of the same area, as expected, more than half of those who took part (52%) voted that environmental problems are inevitable. To build a station, it is necessary to dispose of waste somewhere. By doing this, lands and water bodies, of which there are very few in Kazakhstan, will be polluted, which will critically affect the standard of living of each citizen. It is no less important that, in the opinion of society, economic problems are no less important. The country's economy is not the most stable at the moment and building such a resource-intensive project as a nuclear power plant is a very risky decision.

Figure 2. Diagram No.2

An equally important question from the list was a question directly to the person passing by about his personal opinion: would he like to see a nuclear industry in his country. Considering the above difficulties, 39 out of 102 people “Partially disagree” with the construction of a nuclear plant in Kazakhstan, because how the failures in Chernobyl and Fukushima still affect people, despite the long date. A slightly smaller number of people (30) “Partially agree” with this building. This question made it clear that people are still in doubt about the sudden construction and development of nuclear energy in the country.

Figure 3. Diagram No.3

Together, all these results provide a more accurate picture and mood of society towards a new sphere for Kazakhstan. One can see doubts and fears on the part of the people, but also a desire to improve their lives. With this information, the study will have an even more social connotation, because it may affect the entire population of the country.

Having collected the data and analyzed it, it turned out that there are several outcomes and prospects that Kazakhstan will encounter on the possible path of nuclear energy development.

One of them is the most likely and expected problem - environmental pollution. More than 52% of the country's citizens who took the survey expressed an opinion about possible environmental problems, since energy production from a nuclear reactor releases a colossal amount of waste into the environment (water, land and air), spoiling the environment and putting nature in an acute and difficult situation. Considering that Kazakhstan produces a large number of organic crops and exports them to other countries, along with cattle breeding, such problems can be fatal, because a huge income can be destroyed.

The remaining half believes that Kazakhstan will experience economic growth and an improvement in the standard of living of its citizens, because the construction of a nuclear power plant can increase the amount of energy generated and reduce the cost of purchased energy from other countries, which entails an increase in the country’s free budget.

The next possible prospect is the economic problems associated with the construction and maintenance of a nuclear power plant. The production and stable operation of an electricity processing plant is a responsible task, and with this enterprise, mistakes are unacceptable. For this reason, it will be necessary to equip the building with the latest and most reliable technologies.