{
  "id": 15041822,
  "title": "‘Everybody has an opinion on nuclear energy’: This scientist is determined to defuse nuclear myths",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/everybody-has-an-opinion-on-nuclear-energy-this-scientist-is",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-16T21:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Straits Times",
    "slug": "straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/everybody-has-an-opinion-on-nuclear-energy-this-physicist-is-determined-to-defuse-nuclear-myths"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Singaporean nuclear energy scientist Ian Ang encountered a debate on his field while visiting his neighborhood doctor for a check-up. The physician, unfamiliar with Ang’s work, expressed a negative opinion about nuclear energy, influenced by the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters. Ang refuted this viewpoint by explaining the actual death tolls – 18,430 in Fukushima, and the Chernobyl incident resulted in fewer than 0.5% of thyroid cancer cases leading to death. He clarified that the Chernobyl accident was caused by design flaws and operator errors, not the technology. Ang’s experience debunking nuclear myths reinforced his passion for studying the field. He chose to focus on nuclear energy during his final-year project at NUS after learning about a $63 million research and education program. As a PhD student at the University of Bristol, he contributed to research demonstrating that Fukushima reactor core material had escaped into the environment. Most memorably, he witnessed a child demonstrating how to use gamma detectors to ensure food safety near Chernobyl, highlighting the importance of education in managing nuclear fallout. Ang is now exploring Singapore’s potential for underground geological repositories to store nuclear waste, emphasizing that the world’s spent nuclear fuel volume is manageable and equivalent to just 10 Olympic-sized pools. He cautions against treating the growing nuclear sector as a fleeting trend, noting that expertise can fade after initial booms, as seen in Western countries around the 1980s. While Singapore has no commitment to nuclear energy, Ang remains committed to advancing the science behind it, stating it is the only energy industry that cares about its entire lifespan and beyond.",
  "summary": "Encountering scepticism about nuclear energy cemented Ian Ang’s decision to pursue a PhD in the field.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}