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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | No rethink on Jaitapur N-plant

No rethink on Jaitapur N-plant

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published Published on Mar 15, 2011   modified Modified on Mar 15, 2011

The tsunami-triggered nuclear crisis in Japan will not slow down India's nuclear power plans. The Government on Tuesday made it clear that there would be no rethink on the Jaitapur nuclear power plant in Maharashtra.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh who has been criticised by civil society groups, for clearing the proposed 9,900 MW nuclear power project in the eco-sensitive Western Ghats, said his ministry would put in additional safeguards as part of the environmental clearance, should it be required.

"Yesterday, the Prime Minister made a detailed statement in the Parliament. I know the Nuclear Power Corporation is re-looking on its safety systems, re-looking at design. This appropriately is a subject that has to be dealt with by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and based on the technical reviews that NPCIL ( Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited )) does, we will certainly be in touch with them, and if additional safeguards have to be built in as part of the environmental clearance, we will certainly look at it."

Ramesh's statement on additional safeguards comes close on the heels of former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar's comments that new safety features may have to be incorporated in Indian plants, Kakodkar had said this would be possible only after a detailed review, which would also provide "an opportunity to review the civil foundation required for the Jaitapur plant."

The prime minister had assured Parliament on Monday that the country's nuclear power reactors were safe. Even as he announced that the Department of Atomic Energy and its agencies including the NPCIL would undertake an immediate technical review of the 20 nuclear plants to check if they can withstand the impact of large natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes.

The country's nuclear establishment has been stressing that seismic activity in India was different from Japan. Experts said the Kakrapar plant in Bhuj remained operational during the earthquake in Gujarat in 2001. Similarly, the Kalpakkam plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down when the tsunami hit south India in 2004, was restarted after a few days.

Experts maintain the site for Jaitapur plant is less vulnerable to tsunamis and quakes. The site of the proposed plant is located on a plateau and falls in seismic zone 3, which is geologically less active. Zone 3 is classified as moderate damage risk zone on a seismicity scale of 2 to 5. Seen in the context of the 10 metre high waves that hit the east coast of Japan, the Jaitapur plant's location on a 29 metre plateau needs to be understood in terms of additional protection the location will provide the plant.

The last seismic activity in the western coast was 90 years ago and closer to what is now Pakistan. Bhuj and Latur that saw earthquakes in the last two decades is much away from the western coastline. Geologists are also of the view, a tsunami is highly unlikely on the west coast of India. Such geologically active zones are found near Japan and Java.


The Economic Times, 16 March, 2011, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/no-rethink-on-jaitapur-n-plant/articleshow/7714680.cms


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