Hyderabad, March 21: Amidst rising fears among public over the safety of nuclear power plants in the country, contrasting versions emerged from two government functionaries who spoke on the issue yesterday.
While forest and environment minister Jairam Ramesh raised the level of concern by seriously doubting the safety measures of the country’s nuclear power plants on the coastline, the chairman and managing director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), SK Jain, ruled out any fears over the safety of the nuclear installations and said the country was capable of handling any eventuality.
Jairam Ramesh, while confiding that he was an ardent supporter of nuclear power generation, justified his sudden concerns over safety in the wake of Japan’s experience. “When a systematic country like Japan could not handle the damage to its nuclear reactors due to the tsunami, I can understand what can happen in a disorganised country like ours. After seeing the effect of tsunami in Japan recently and in India in 2004, I feel there is a need for more safety and precautionary measures in the nuclear plants on the coastline,” he said.
On the other hand, SK Jain along with RN Jayaraj, CEO, Nuclear Fuel Complex and PS Parihar, additional director, Atomic Minerals Directorate, at a press conference here today, explained the safety features of the nuclear plants in the country.
“We design nuclear power plants for the highest seismic potential even though the country is nowhere near the critical seismic zone,” said Jain. “In the last five decades many natural calamities struck the country, including the Bhuj earthquake and tsunami in 2004. The Kakrapar atomic plant was near Bhuj but nothing happened to it. The plants located on the coast were also not affected by the tsunami,” he said.
“We have an auto shutdown mechanism in case of a high impact incident. The nuclear chain reaction is stopped and the heat is brought down. Emergency condensors, blackouts, specialised fire-fighting equipment and multiple barriers to prevent radioactivity release are some of the other safety features,” he said.
He dismissed reports that radiation from Japan could reach India and said the particular radiation was not capable of travelling such long distances.
Stating that his department had been in regular contact with its Japanese counterpart and other international agencies, Jain, referring to the authentic data from Japan, said the situation in the island country was in control.
–Agencies