Friday, November 29, 2002
India admits six minor leaks in nuclear power plants
Agence France-Presse New Delhi, November 29
The Government has admitted that six leaks had occurred in the country's nuclear power plants in the past four years but insisted that these were "minor".
"The few incidents of leakage of tritiated heavy water did not have any significant impact on the public and environment," Minister of State Vasundhra Raje said in Lok Sabha on Thursday.
She said that only on May 5, 1998, was the radiation dose released into the Rana Pratap Sagar lake, in northwestern India, in the form of heavy water was above the limit prescribed by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. However, the impact of the release was negligible, she said.
More than a year after this incident, heavy water leaked from the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) in eastern India due to the failure of a seal plug during a coolant channel inspection.
The incident led to a release of radioactive material through the stack, which was "well within" the limit prescribed by the AERB, she said. The following year tritium leaked from the moderator system of the Narora atomic power station in northern Uttar Pradesh state, but the activity was within the prescribed limit.
In June 2000, MAPS faced another problem, but the leak was within the norms, Raje said.
Three months later, tritium again leaked into the Rana Pratap Sagar lake, but again there was no cause for undue alarm because it was well within the prescribed limits, she said.
The last incident took place at Narora in November last year, but the incident did not result in any release in excess of the prescribed limit. Currently 14 nuclear power reactors are operating at six atomic power stations in India. Eight more reactors are being constructed.
Raje said maintenance practices and operational procedures are being "scrupulously followed" at all plants and an accident like that which occurred at Chernobyl was "highly unlikely".
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