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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | DAE sets up experts group on Kudankulam

DAE sets up experts group on Kudankulam

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published Published on Oct 20, 2011   modified Modified on Oct 20, 2011
-The Hindu
 
A group of 15 experts from various fields has been set up by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to interact with Tamil Nadu government officials and spokespersons of the people in the neighbourhood of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNNP) to dispel the apprehensions of the locals on the safety of reactors.

Manmohan's assurance

The decision follows Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurance to a multi-party delegation from Tamil Nadu on October 7 that “the Central government would constitute a small group of experts to interact with the representatives of the people of the region to satisfy all their legitimate concerns” on the safety of the Kudankulam reactors. “This exercise would suitably involve” the State government, Dr. Singh told the delegation led by Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam.

A DAE release on Thursday said the experts group comprises reputed academicians, scientists, doctors and engineers specialising in environmental science, radiation safety, nuclear reactor design, reactor safety, nuclear regulatory aspects, waste management, oncology, oceanography, fisheries, thermal ecology and seismology.

DAE spokesman S.K. Malhotra said Tamil Nadu would be requested to provide an appropriate platform where the experts could meet with senior State officials, spokespersons of the neighbourhood identified by the government and could deliberate on issues raised in recent times such as seismicity, tsunami, impact on fishing, radiation in the environment, thermal ecology, waste management, etc.

The experts would “share their knowledge” in their fields with the State officials and locals and allay their fears on the reactors' safety, Mr. Malhotra said.

(More than 100 people from the coastal villages around the KKNNP, led by the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy, have been on fast at Idinthakarai village from September 11, demanding scrapping of the project. The KKNNP in Tirunelveli district consists of two Russian reactors, called VVER-1000, each with a capacity of 1,000 MWe. While the first one is expected to be commissioned in December, the second one may start generating power from June 2012).

The experts group consists of A.E. Muthunayagam, Vice-Chancellor, Nurul Islam University, Nagercoil; M.R. Iyer, retired director, Division of Radiation Safety, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna; M.N. Madhyastha, retired professor, Mangalore University; N. Sukumaran, Director, School of Life Sciences, VELS University, Chennai; A.K. Pal, Professor, Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai; V. Shantha, Chairperson, Cancer Institute, Adyar, Chennai; C.S. Pramesh, Associate Professor and Surgeon, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai; Harsh K. Gupta, Panikkar Professor, National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad; Kannan Iyer, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay; and D.V.R. Murthy, IIT-Madras.

Others in the group include S.K. Mehta, retired Director, Reactor Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay; S.K. Sharma, former Chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board; K. Balu, retired Director, Nuclear Waste Management Group, BARC; S.M. Lee, Raja Ramanna Fellow, Safety Research Institute, Kalpakkam; and W. Stephen Aruldoss Kanthiah, retired Director (Operations), Heavy Water Board.

While Dr. Muthunayagam's areas of specialisation include mechanical engineering, environmental science and oceanography, Dr. M.R. Iyer specialises in radiation safety, Professor Madhyastha in thermal ecology and Professor Sukumaran and Dr. Pal in fisheries. Dr. Shantha and Dr. Pramesh are reputed oncologists and Professor Harsh Gupta specialises in seismology.

Dr. Muthunayagam was a top official in the Indian Space Research Organisation. Professor Kannan Iyer and Professor Murthy specialise in safety research in mechanical engineering.

Mr. Mehta deals with nuclear reactors' design and Mr. Sharma is an expert in nuclear regulatory aspects.

Mr. Balu is a specialist in nuclear waste management, Dr. Lee an expert in reactor safety and Mr. Stephen Aruldoss Kanthiah in chemical plants' safety.

* Decision follows Manmohan's assurance to Tamil Nadu delegation

* Group comprises academicians, scientists, doctors and engineers

The Hindu, 21 October, 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2557400.ece


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