‘Kudankulam reactors are safe’
March 16th, 2011 - 12:28 am ICT by IANSKudankulam, March 15 (IANS) The Kudankulam nuclear reactors are designed to be safe against natural calamities like earthquake and tsunami and there is no risk of flooding by sea, a senior official said here Tuesday.
M. Kasinath Balaji, site director, said the buildings that house the nuclear reactor and auxiliary equipment, reactor safety systems, safety diesel generators and others are designed to operate safely under seismic activity.
He said the Kudankulam project, located around 600 km from Chennai, has been provided with a shore protection bund of 7.5 metres from the mean sea level (MSL).
According to him, the design got testified during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that hit the Tamil Nadu coast.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is building two 1,000 MW nuclear reactors at Kudankulam. The entire equipment is supplied by Russia.
According to Balaji, the Kudankulam reactor has the state of art Gen 3 plus safety design features that ensure reactor core is always filled with water containing boron.
This would ensure the temperature of water below the limits.
He said the reactors are cooled by natural circulation when there is loss of power supply to the re-circulation pumps.
According to him, each reactor has four diesel generator sets to supply standby power to keep the reactor cool when it is shut down.
He said there is remote possibility of the reactor core melting due to heat. And even if the core melts, there is a special feature known as core melt catcher to contain the damage.
According to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) of India, the situation at Japan’s nuclear sites after the earthquake and tsunami is being monitored.
Technical information is coming in as the situation is evolving and a clearer picture will emerge progressively.
In India, of the 20 reactors (19 are in operation), only two units - namely Tarapur 1 and 2 - are Boiling Water Reactors (BWR) similar to ones at Fukushima, Japan.
All the reactors in India are designed to withstand the effects of earthquake and tsunami of specific magnitudes, which are decided, based on conservative criteria.
AERB will be carrying out a comprehensive reassessment of safety and emergency mitigation measures of all the Indian nuclear power plants in the light of the unprecedented event in Japan.
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- Plans to circulate coolant in Kudankulam reactor - Nov 19, 2011
- Japan resumes cooling operations at quake-hit nuke plant - Mar 21, 2011
- Change of guard at Kudankulam N-plant - Apr 30, 2012
- Chinese nuke plant safer than Fukushima: Experts - Mar 20, 2011
- Nuclear plants in India are safe, assures Nuclear Power Corporation - Mar 14, 2011
- Japan declares nuclear emergency as second plant fails to operate - Mar 12, 2011
- No need for fear on Kudankulam n-plant: Kalam - Nov 07, 2011
- Grayish smoke spotted in No. 3 reactor building of Japan's affected nuke plant - Mar 21, 2011
- N-reactor shut down in Japan - Jul 17, 2011
- Condition at Fukushima n-plant improving: Japan (Second Intro Roundup) - Mar 20, 2011
- Japan scrambling to contain Fukushima crisis - Mar 16, 2011
- Greenpeace worried about Japan nuke plant collapse impact - Mar 12, 2011
Tags: atomic energy regulatory board, auxiliary equipment, boiling water reactors, circulation pumps, diesel generator, diesel generators, fukushima japan, india ltd, indian ocean tsunami, natural calamities, natural circulation, npcil, nuclear power corporation, nuclear reactor, nuclear reactors, reactor core, reactor safety, safety design, standby power, tamil nadu