The problem is not just local, it threatens the entire region
India is enhancing its economic and industrial capacity amid rapid increase in population and energy demands. Uninterrupted access to energy is the key and nuclear energy is one of the top alternative sources to expensive fossil fuel based sources. Nuclear energy sector demands investment in nuclear fuel facilities, human resource, access to high-end and dual use technology, and that does not happen sans active international cooperation.
India’s nuclear energy and weapons programme dates back to 1940s once Homi Bhaba – the father of country’s nuclear programme – returned from UK after schooling from prominent physicist Ernest Rutherford. Nuclear energy ranks fourth amongst Indian electricity production sources. Thermal, hydro and renewable resources are still the major sources of energy. India has 19 nuclear power plants that can generate 4,560 MW, and four plants are in pipeline with installed capacity of generating around 2,720 MW power. Reportedly, population exceeding millions is residing around these nuclear facilities and is unsatisfied with nuclear power, protesting and demonstrating against nuclearisation of India.
Despite nuclear accidents at Chernobyl, Fukushima and Three Mile Island, nuclear power is still believed to be one of the safest sources of power generation. It only requires safe construction and maintenance. But for India nuclear technology has its vices; its failure to tackle with power plants and to operate them safely is a question in itself. The popular public sentiment and concerns about safety of nuclear power plants cannot be ignored. The principle risk or fear associated with nuclear power comes from radiation.
Despite nuclear accidents at Chernobyl, Fukushima and Three Mile Island, nuclear power is still believed to be one of the safest sources of power generation. It only requires safe construction and maintenance. But for India nuclear technology has its vices; its failure to tackle with power plants and to operate them safely is a question in itself
A recent Times of India report claimed that 70 per cent deaths in the last 20 years occurred from cancer caused from exposure to radiations from poorly managed nuclear power plants. It can be safely assumed that poor safety standards will only increase the risk of cancer and bigger accidents as the number of power plants grow in India. Reportedly, cancer cases in India multiply every five times a year. Department of Atomic Energy had seen a 16 per cent increase in death rate in the last four years.
The increasing percentage of cancer disease and death toll due to radiation exposures at or around nuclear facilities should be an eye opener for the government of India and rest of the international community. In the race for doing profitable businesses associated to nuclear energy, the involved parties should not lose sight of safety lest the disastrous consequences increase beyond redemption.
Most of the Indian nuclear power plants are located at the seismic zones and nobody can guarantee that an Indian nuclear plant would survive catastrophic one-two punch of an earthquake. The government has unconvincingly tried to allay growing public concerns to little avail and only media’s silence has drowned such protests in India. The 2011 Japanese nuclear disaster at Fukushima was a wake-up call for India that does not have the money, discipline, political will and expertise to handle such issues. If a technologically advanced country like Japan saw Fukushima, India is a small fry.
India seems to become more and more obsessed with its nuclear credentials with the passage of time. Since the Modi sarkar came into power, people have been forced to evacuate their ancestral hometowns or living places for the sake of making government’s stampede to become nuclear goal and mission accomplished
Indian National Disaster Management Authority in 2009 submitted an analysis report to the Home Minister, claiming that there were 12 critical vulnerabilities that simply clarified the tardiness in India’s response to a disaster. For a country that is planning to work on mega and technically sensitive projects, must ensure the safety and also make its management department effective in response to a disaster. Otherwise, local people and workers would be the only entities suffering from loss and damage.
India seems to become more and more obsessed with its nuclear credentials with the passage of time. Since the Modi sarkar came into power, people have been forced to evacuate their ancestral hometowns or living places for the sake of making government’s stampede to become nuclear goal and mission accomplished.
Nuclear power in India is a source of serious concern for the locals and also for international non-proliferation regimes. Rising death toll at or around nuclear facilities, diagnosis of certain health issues like cancer, physical or mental deformities, paralysis, deafness, blindness are just a few concerns. The government of India seems to be paying no heed towards people’s plea and genuine concerns. The issue is that a nuclear accident would not only be disastrous for one of the most populous counties in the world but no one can guarantee if the harmful effects would not have a regional fallout.
I didn't understand why the concern is being shown on Indian usage of nuclear energy without highlighting the effects on its nuclear weapon capability. Peaceful use is the right of every nation and we here in Pakistan are also trying to develop consensus on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Showing concern on Indian use is out of place and out of context while the author agree that India is short of energy.
This writer is a former secretary of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), India. He is conversant with the safety status of Indian nuclear power plants. He invites the author of this article and the readers to read the annual reports of AERB. These are available at the website of AERB (www.aerb.gov.in) The reports are fairly exhaustive. They show the safety status of the plants. The radiation doses to the workers in Indian nuclear power plants are well within the dose limits prescribed by AERB. The plants comply with the limits for radioactive releases stipulated by AERB. The radiation doses to the members of the public at the exclusion boundary of Indian nuclear power reactors are too low to be measured. The estimated values are a small fraction of the dose limit to public stipulated by AERB. As a matter of fact, these doses are smaller than the variation in natural background radiation present every where even in the absence of reactors
India started operating its first nuclear power plant at Tarapur in 1969. It has so far completed over 394 reactor-years of operation. The International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna rates nuclear events on a scale of 1 to 7. Levels 1–3 are “incidents” and Levels 4–7 “accidents”. The highest scale of a nuclear event in India was level 3. This incident occurred at the Narora Atomic Power Station in 1993. It was a fire incident, no one suffered any injury. No worker was exposed to radiation.There was no radioactive releases into the environment. The author has raised many issues. May be a full article is needed in response. In the meanwhile let me assure the readers that India's nuclear power plants are working safely. They are sited, constructed and operated as per international safety standards. The article contains, facts, fallacies and fiction. This writer will be pleased to respond to other concerns expressed by the author if the editor of this publication agrees. I request the editor to send an e mail message indicating to whom this writer must send the article. After all,it is fair to give the readers an opportunity to learn the factual position. This writer's email is [email protected]
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