KARWAR: The nuclear disaster that followed the earthquake and tsunami in Japan has once again raised doubts on the safety of nuclear power installations.
According to Nuclear Power Corporation India Limited (NPCIL), all nuclear power installations in the country, except that in Narora, lie in Zone III or Zone II. Narora lies in Seismic Zone IV. They claim that Zones II and III are low seismic areas and that even the Narora plant withstood tremors in the past. Kaiga in Uttara Kannada district, where NPCIL has established four reactor units, comes under Zone III. NPCIL authorities claim that the reactor units are designed for the biggest quakes and have inbuilt safety systems. There are four barriers within the unit to prevent radiation leak. Further, NPCIL has adopted ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) concept in which every possible precaution is taken to limit radiation during exposure.
However, environmentalists are not prepared to accept this argument. Their agitation in the eighties against the setting up of the plant was because the site was in a seismic zone.
Yesterday, after the disaster in Japan, top nuclear bodies admit that they would not jump to say that nuclear power reactors in the country would not suffer a similar fate and plan to revisit safety standards.
Despite this, NPCIL plans to establish two more higher capacity reactor units at Kaiga. However, locals have opposed it questioning the carrying capacity Kaiga.