Safety of Indian nuclear reactors

In view of the Japan experiencing nuclear disaster at Fukushima plant following a quake and a Tsunami, the safety of India nuclear reactors are being taken into account .
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh  called for a re-examination of civil nuclear safety systems in the world following the earthquake-triggered nuclear disaster in Japan.

India has seven nuclear plants with 20 nuclear reactors. These are located at Kaiga in Karnatakal; Kalpakkam and Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu; Tarapur in Maharashtra; Kakrapur in Gujarat; Narora in Uttar Pradesh; and Rawatbhatta in Rajasthan.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday met with the heads of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) to review the  safety  of atomic power plants in the country."What (AEC and department of atomic energy) they tell us is that here the designs are different, the storage of spent fuel is different," National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon told .

India's nuclear power industry is undergoing rapid expansion as India's domestic uranium reserves are small and the country is dependent on uranium imports to fuel its nuclear power industry. Since early 1990s, Russia has been a major supplier of nuclear fuel to India.

The country is involved in the development of nuclear fusion reactors through its participation in the ITER project and is a global leader in the development of thorium-based fast breeder reactors.

India's domestic uranium reserves are small and the country is dependent on uranium imports to fuel its nuclear power industry. Since early 1990s, Russia has been a major supplier of nuclear fuel to India.

 Safety Terms :

Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) is a better than Boiling Water Reactors (BWR)   Fukushima  nuclear plant is a case of BWR.Fukushima plant is on the coast .

18 reactors in India are  Pressurized Heavy Water Rectors (PHWRs)
None of the nuclear reactors in India are  in Zone 5 (most vulnerable to earthquakes) ie. the most dangerous level.

There are five seismic zones ,  in India ,among them the  fourth  and fifth zone  are classifed as high damage risk zone.
Most nuclear reactors are in Zone 2.

The point to be noted is that in India proposed Jaitapur plant is located in a seismically sensitive area.Narora, which is in seismic Zone 4 and  has much higher safety standards

In Japan, there are 54 nuclear reactors located in seismic zone IV and V, and in the US there are 10 nuclear reactors in seismic zone V -- which are considered most earthquake-prone zones.

Atomic Energy Commission chairman Srikumar Banerjee said said JNPP was in zone III, where seismic activity is less severe.

CPI(M)'s Ramchandra Dome on Wednesday  said the proposed 9900 MW nuclear plant at Jaitapur in Maharashtra falls under seismic zone III as per the report of the Geological Survey of India.

"The region has faced 92 earthquakes since 1985. In 1993, one of the biggest earthquakes measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale occurred," Dome said.

In the wake of the Japan experience following a quake and a tsunami, Atomic Energy Commission chairman Srikumar Banerjee said that the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant (JNPP) site in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, is absolutely "safe" and can even withstand a tsunami of the magnitude experienced by Japan.

"Many questions are being raised about the JNPP site. It is being built at a site which is on a plateau, 25 metres above sea level," said Banerjee, who is also secretary, Department of Atomic Energy.

Referring to the seismic activity, or seismicity of the JNPP project site at Jaitapur, Banerjee said the authorities have conducted all studies and it would be a state-of-the-art site in all respects.

  Major Nuclear accidents in India 


-In 1987 at Kalpakkam nuclear power plant: The rupturing of reactor core at Kalpakkam on 4 May, 1987 leading to a 2 year shutdown of the plant.


-On 10 September , 1989 at  Tarapur nuclear power plant :Leaking of radioactive iodine at more than 700 times normal levels  from Tarapur plant of Maharashtra leading to 1 year shutdown.


On 13 May, 1992  at Tarapur nuclear power plant: 12 curies of radioactivity released at the same Tarapur power plant.


On 31st March , 1993,  Bulandshahar nuclear power plant in Uttar Pradesh : Fire broke out at two of the turbine blades at Bulandshahr plant .


On 2 feb 1995 at Kota nuclear power plant: The Kota plant in Rajasthan started releasing radioactive helium and heavy water into Rana pratap sagar lake leading to 2 year shutdown of the plant.


On 22 October ,2002 at Kalpakkam nuclear reactor: About 100 kg radioactive sodium leaked into the purification cabin at Kalpakkam plant .

Robots to fabricate fuel for new Indian nuclear reactors

  As large  sized nuclear reactors are set to introduced in Indian atomic power landscape, the Hyderabad-based Nuclear Fuel Complex has decided to induct robots in the fuel fabrication process for new reactors - indigenous as well as imported.

"We are planning to introduce robots in the fuel fabrication activities as the proposed reactors are big sized ones. We are also getting ready to fabricate fuels for different kinds of reactors- light water reactors (LWR), pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) and fast breeder reactors (FBR)," its senior manager Meena Ravindran said.



"Robots will have to be inducted to do precision machining as the components of the new generation reactors are huge in size. Their number will depend on the prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR)," she said.

The Rs.5,600 crore PFBR is fast coming up at Kalpakkam near here and is expected to go on stream late next year or early 2012.