A committee appointed by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has recommended “extended and enhanced availability” of both power and water for all the nuclear power stations in the country, including the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP), in the aftermath of the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan in March this year.
AERB chairman S.S. Bajaj said, “What has been recommended is portable power packs that can be hooked up for power supply when normal electricity systems are not available. A secure water source should be identified for emergency cooling of the reactor core.”
Asked about the telecast on Friday by a channel that claimed the AERB had said that “more safety checks” were needed at the KKNPP and that this “contradicts the government's stand” that the KKNPP was safe, Mr. Bajaj said, “While dealing with Kudankulam, the committee found that it had a lot of strong points. Its reactors were well protected, particularly from tsunami, as they were situated at a higher elevation than the maximum anticipated tsunami level. With regard to earthquakes, he said the reactors were designed very well. “Besides, they have a lot of safety features, including the passive heat removal system (PHRS).”
(The PHRS uses the atmospheric air to cool the reactor fuel core when all sources of power supply to the reactor unit fail and there is a station black-out. The PHRS does not need electrical pumps).
Mr. Bajaj said the panel recommended for all the nuclear power stations, including Kudankulam, the provision of “extended, total duration of power supply” from additional sources and extended duration of water supply for emergency cooling of the fuel core. “These are the [two] major recommendations.”
When contacted, a top KKNPP official said, “The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited has a good culture of following and implementing the AERB recommendations. We will implement these recommendations also. Safety is high on our agenda.” The KKNPP was the only nuclear power plant in the world that boasted of a PHRS. Portable power packs would be organised and additional water storage tanks built at Kudankulam. “As an abundant measure of safety, we have defence-in-depth mechanism. We will now have extended defence-in-depth.”
