The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) has been directed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to submit a report on the ability of India’s nuclear reactors to handle a Fukushima-type catastrophe within the next two weeks.
Revealing details of the review, NPCIL’s director, technical, Dr S.A. Bharadawaj said NPCIL had divided India’s reactors into four groups.
“The first group comprises the Tarapur 1 and 2 boiling water reactors, the second is Rajasthan Atomic Power Station built with Canadian assistance, the third is the indigenously built Madras Atomic Power Station located at Kalpakkam am and in the fourth category will be the remaining indigenously built pressurised heavy water reactors.
The safety audit will look into the issue of what kind of backups are available in case there is a breakdown of electricity and water supply.”
Dr Bharadawaj explained that in case both the electricity and its back up fail, there is an uninterrupted eight hour supply for Tarapur and 36 hour supply for the other nuclear reactors. This happens because of the availability of thermo-siphon water available in the Tarapur reactors and the presence of heavy water in the other reactors.
“The main challenge before us is that in case of a Fukushima breakdown, we have to ensure sufficient electricity, sufficient people and sufficient water to keep cooling the reactors,” he said.
Commenting specifically on the Indian situation he said “The eastern coast faces a serious cyclone threat and that has to be factored in along with regular flooding that takes place in many parts of the country,” Dr Bharadawaj added.
Putting to rest the fears of the larger public, Dr S.K. Banerjee, chairman of department of atomic energy, clarified that the scale of Japanese disaster could not be compared to a “nuclear explosion”.
“In case of an earthquake, all reactors shut down automatically as happened in Japan but even after shutting down, energy comes from radioactive decay which produces 5 per cent in one hour and less than one percent after 24 hours. The failure of the cooling systems saw a leakage in hydrogen and when it came in contact with oxygen it exploded,” he said.
“These explosions are not comparable to nuclear explosions or to Chernobyl,” he explained, claiming there was little likelihood of this nuclear material reaching India. “We have 85 points( in India) where radiation is being monitored and none of these have registered any variation,” he said.
Scientists analysing the reason for the disaster believe that one key reason could be because the faultline of the earthquake was located just 140km from the nuclear power station which was hit by a tsunami an hour later.
In India, the gap between the two major faultlines located in Makkaram and Sumatra are located a good six hours away.
Indian scientists have also taken the precaution of locating the back up diesel gensets at higher levels than the expected height of a tsunami. The lesson to learnt is to “beyond the design basis” to take care of possible contingencies, Dr Banerjee explained, adding he did not perceive a problem with fuel rods heating up either because in India, they had been dispersed in different areas.
Indian demand for electricity is increasing at the rate of ten per cent per annum and nuclear energy is one of the key means to meet this demand. Refusing to be drawn into the construction of the Jaitapur nuclear park controversy, he said the new light water reactors work to be installed work for 18 months without a break and have remain structurally sound.