Egypt’s ministries of electricity and investment and international cooperation signed an agreement on August 6 that would see landmines cleared from the Al-Dabaa area, where a nuclear power plant is being constructed. Egypt’s entanglement with landmines has a dark history. It remains the country most contaminated by landmines in the world, and an estimated 7,923 Egyptians have fallen victim to landmines over the past 25 years. The areas with the highest contamination remain the north coast, which was saturated with landmines during WWII, and areas in Sinai, as a result of wars with neighboring Israel. The EGP 2 million-protocol covers an area of 11,000 feddans on Egypt’s northern coast, and the implementation of the plant is expected to take place before the end of 2017. However, even before the landmine issue emerged, the Al-Dabaa nuclear power plant has sparked a huge debate in the country. “We have the main two big factors: price and source,” Amena Sharaf, an environmental researcher, told BECAUSE. “Why oh why are we taking this extremely costly road? Can we really afford it? And for how long are we going to depend on foreign resources?” she…
Landmines, Radioactive Waste and other Concerns over Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plant
August 16, 2017
