India orders safety review of nuclear reactors: PM

Monday March 14, 2011 08:09:57 PM, IANS

New Delhi/Mumbai: India Monday said its nuclear reactors can withstand "large natural disasters" but has ordered a safety review at nuclear plants following a nuclear fallout in disaster-hit Japan.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the Lok Sabha that the government wanted safety systems at all its nuclear plants studied to ensure they can withstand natural disasters like tsunamis and earthquakes.

"The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and its agencies, including the Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL), have been instructed to undertake an immediate technical review of all safety systems of our nuclear power plants, particularly to (ensure) they would be able to withstand the impact of large disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes," he said.

He sought to reassure the house that the government attaches "the highest importance to nuclear safety".

The NPCIL, which operates 20 nuclear power reactors, said that Indian nuclear plants maintain the highest levels of safety as per international norms and have withstood major natural disasters in the past.

The DAE and NPCIL are closely monitoring the situation. They are in touch with the World Association of Nuclear Operators, Tokyo Centre, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, World Nuclear Association and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"In-depth review of all such events have been done for all the plants and necessary reinforcement features based on the outcome of these reviews have been incorporated as a laid down procedure.

"The event of Japan will be reviewed in detail in due course as the detailed information becomes available. Resulting out of such a review, any reinforcement as needed in Indian reactors will be implemented," the NPCIL said in a statement late Sunday.

Manmohan Singh said India operates 20 nuclear plants and 18 of them were indigenous pressurized heavy water reactors and two at Tarapur plant were boiling water reactors of the type being operated in Japan.

"A safety audit of these reactors has been completed recently," he said in a statement.

Manmohan Singh said the Indian nuclear plants have in the past met their safety standards.

He said that work "is under way in DAE towards further strengthening of India's national nuclear safety regulatory authority".

The 20 nuclear power reactors in India have an installed capacity of 4,780 MW, including two Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs). The rest are Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWRs). Their safety was re-analysed some years back and reviewed by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.

Japan has 54 nuclear reactors.

The PHWRs are designed differently than BWRs, and they also have multiple shutdown systems as well as cooling water systems.

The Indian nuclear plants proved their safety during the severe Gujarat earthquake of 2001. The Kakrapar atomic power plant continued to operate safely and supplied much-need energy to affected regions, the statement said.

Similarly, during the 2004 tsunami which hit Tamil Nadu, the Madras Atomic Power Station was safely shut down without any radiological consequences. It was restarted a few days later following regulatory review, it said.

Japan's Fukushima city is home to 10 reactors at two power plants, and explosions have occurred at two of the reactors since Friday's magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami.

One explosion occurred Saturday and the second Monday after a 6.2 magnitude aftershock.

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