India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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SSridhar
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by SSridhar »

A CISF jawan shoots dead three of his mates at Kalpakkam just a while ago.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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In December 2002, Pam-ela, nearly six-foot-tall and athletically built, had checked into a hotel, Mamallapuram Annexe, in Mahablipuram and started keeping an eye on the Russian scientists staying there. Soon, sources said, she zeroed in on a 62-year-old scientist, Chagounov Valeri (Passport no. 1621517) and moved to a room (room number 512 on third floor) next to his.

One day, Pamela found Valeri, who was a heavy drinker, on the terrace. She approached him and started a conversation. Immediately, the intelligence officials, responsible for foreign scientists' security, confronted her. She tried to confuse them with her glib talk, but the intelligence men would have none of it. They forced themselves into her room and began searching it.

Pamela's search had yielded two passports, an Australian and another issued by a western nation. The Indian intelligence agencies believe that both passports were fake.

She was later taken to Chennai for further interrogation, before being sent to Singapore. It is also believed that she also had someone else staying closeby as a "backup." As for Valeri, he was sent home within 24 hours.

On January 21, 2003, a young woman had been caught trying to breach the security by befriending a Russian scientist engaged in maintenance work there.

In her late-20s and identified as Rogers Sonia Pamela in her Australian passport, she was suspected to be working for a western spy organisation, highly placed sources in a central intelligence age-ncy disclosed on Tuesday.

However, following pressure from "unknown quarters", New Delhi had to release her. After her interrogation in Chennai, she was put on the first flight to Singapore. Also, before claiming "diplomatic immunity", she had tried to get away by posing as a journalist.

What was she doing at Kalpakkam?
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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Senior home ministry officials admitted that hackers have repeatedly defaced the sites of the Trombay-based Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and the Kalpakkam-based Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR). "IGCAR's been hacked as many as seven times this year (2001)," sources told Outlook. "This means the ISI has accessed information about highly sensitive data relating to India's nuclear test management."

Lan Sakes!
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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For the record :

Reports of cancer deaths in atomic energy hubs hoax: DAE

New Delhi — The Department of Atomic Energy under the aegis of the Government of India has termed reports in a section of the media on cancer deaths in atomic energy hubs as a “malicious distortion of facts”.

The Times of India on 6 September and indiatvnews.com the next day had published such reports, citing a response to some RTI query.

In a clarification issued yesterday evening, the DAE has clarified its position as under (unedited):

A section of media has recently published a report about Cancer behind 70% deaths in India’s atomic energy hubs. This is a gross distortion of facts. The report has cited ‘2600 deaths due to cancer, out of a total of 3887 deaths of employees in 19 centres (during 1995-2014)’, attributing the information to responses to RTI queries made by Shri Chetan Kothari of Mumbai. He received information (vide his RTI query dated June 22, 2010 and March 29, 2014) from the Department of Atomic Energy on the number of deaths of its employees while in service due to various causes, including suicide. The malicious report also quoted a ‘shocking revelation of 255 suicides’ in BARC during the same period 1995 to 2014. However, nothing can be farther from the truth, because this report does not reflect the information given by the Units of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to Shri Kothari.
DAE has once again scrutinised the information provided by its Units, especially the major Units, directly to Shri Kothari in July-August 2010 (for the period 1995-2010), and in April-June 2014 (for the period from 2010).
The total number of deaths of DAE employees in service over the period of 1995 to 2014 works out to 2564 and this includes 69 cases of suicides (as against the report claiming 3887 deaths and 255 suicides). The number of deaths reported by DAE Units due to cancer-related causes is 152 out of the above 2564 deaths. All the responses do not necessarily contain information on the cause of deaths (response to information is always based on available information alone); thus the actual number of deaths of employees due to cancer related causes could be higher than the above figure of 152, but this would in no case be anywhere near 2600 cases, as being made out in the media report. The media report seems to have got its numbers wrong, although it refers to the RTI source.
That the incidence of cancer-related deaths among DAE employees is similar to what is seen in other sectors of society is also borne out of a study conducted by the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) covering 22,224 DAE workers and their families at three major Indian nuclear installations (Tarapur, Kaiga and Kakrapar) between 1981 and 2012, which found that cancer accounted for 9% of all deaths in this population group. In contrast, the said report quotes the highly exaggerated figure of 70% of cancer deaths (2600 cancer-related deaths out of a total of 3887 deaths of DAE employees).
The average number of deaths of DAE employees while in service over the period 1995 to 2014 works out to about 130 per year. There is nothing abnormal about this rate, considering that the number of employees in the entire DAE is nearly 60,000 and that the annual death rate in India is reported to be 6 to 8 per 1000.
The outlandish claim on the rate of cancer deaths and suicides among DAE employees seems to be based on grossly erroneous and distorted interpretation of the information provided by DAE Units in their responses to the RTI query. DAE has reasons to believe that the information on the number of DAE employees undergoing treatment for different types of illness or ailment, provided by a couple of Units of DAE in their responses to the RTI query of Shri C. Kothari in 2014, has been recklessly counted as ‘deaths of employees’, and tabulated for circulation.
The blatant attempt made by such malicious report to malign the DAE and cause considerable damage to the nuclear energy programme in the country in the long-run needs strong condemnation. It is very unfortunate that a section of the media not only published such a completely misleading report without carrying out necessary and sufficient verification of all facts and figures, but has also ignored the DAE appeals to publish its response.
DAE had countered in June 2010 similar erroneous media reports on cancer deaths and suicides. DAE, along with TMC, will publish more detailed information and analysis of the health status of its employees in due course of time. DAE would like to reassure one and all that it continues to place very high priority on the welfare of its employees and the public, especially those in the neighbourhood of its Facilities, and that all its projects and operations are carried out with utmost care ensuring the safety and welfare of its personnel and neighbourhood population.
http://www.sirfnews.com/sci-tech/report ... x-dae.html
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by SaiK »

now, this kind of saying is what makes deterrence validated.
http://bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=21339

“In the 1971 war with Pakistan, we had to rely on then Soviet Union when United States Seventh Fleet entered Indian waters. Now we don’t have to rely on anyone. We are efficient enough to take any kind of threat from any power,” the scientist said while highlighting the prowess of India’s supremacy in missile technology.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by Shankk »

Initial language of the article is little confusing but further down in the article it does say that the deal is concluded. Hopefully this is not DDM.

India, Canada clinch nuclear deal in record time
The restart of nuclear cooperation with Canada has been a long journey for both countries. Therefore it was a pleasant surprise to nuclear watchers here when India and Canada concluded their nuclear deal in virtually record time. The India-US deal still remains unconsummated and it will be a while before all the procedures are completed on the India-Australia front.

Canada expressing support for Indian membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The two countries plan to cooperate on building higher capacity nuclear reactors. Indian reactors are based on the CANDU model. The DAE wants to upgrade Indian nuclear reactors from their current capacity of 200MW to 750MW, MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said as he brief on the discussions.
As a result of the conversations between Baird and Swaraj, the two countries will do some joint development. They will also joint host a nuclear security workshop in India with some 15 countries, the first such meet India would be organizing with another country.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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^^^ Maybe the transcript of the official announcement will clear up ambiguities.
Transcript of Media Briefing by Official Spokesperson (October 14, 2014)

October 15, 2014

Official Spokesperson (Shri Syed Akbaruddin): …………………............... With those initial remarks, let me try and put out the announcements that I have to make. The first announcement is regarding the Strategic Dialogue that was held this morning between the External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj and the visiting Foreign Minister of Canada, Mr. John Baird. ……………………

One of the major areas of this discussion was energy and there was an agreement that there was a synergy in India’s needs to acquire as much energy from as many sources as possible and Canada’s desire to be a long term and reliable partner in India’s energy needs. ………………………

Any discussion of energy is not complete where we are concerned without discussion of nuclear energy. So there was a discussion about nuclear energy and it was explained that Canada’s Cameco and the Department of Atomic Energy are now in the process of working out commercial contracts for purchase of Canadian Uranium for our nuclear power plants and they were satisfied with the progress and we hope that these agreements, once commercial terms and legal matters are sorted out, will come into place in the not too distant future.

Also, there was discussion on three other aspects of nuclear and I will share those with you. Number one, there was a discussion on India and Canada jointly hosting a workshop on nuclear security. This workshop is going to be held later during the month. It is the first of its sort that India is cooperating with another country to host a workshop on nuclear security. Fifteen countries have been invited along with the International Atomic Energy Agency resource persons and this is a first of cooperation and collaboration between India and any country on nuclear security. There was also discussion relating to possibilities of research and development on nuclear power plants. You are aware that we are intending to scale up our indigenous production of nuclear power plants and the pressurized heavy water reactors that we are planning are for approximately 750 megawatts which is what the Canadians are also with similar technology working on.

So there is a synergy in both our approach to increase nuclear power and Canadian capabilities in this regard and it was felt that we should not only be seen as buyers and sellers, I mean Canada the seller and India the buyer of Uranium but also possibilities of working together in research activities for nuclear power plants or nuclear reactors. ..................
Transcript of Media Briefing by Official Spokesperson (October 14, 2014)
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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PFBR Awaits Clearance - The Hindu
Loading of the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) with liquid sodium awaits clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), said Prabhat Kumar, chairman and managing director, Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI).

BHAVINI, a public sector undertaking of the Department of Atomic Energy, has built the PFBR at Kalpakkam, 60 km from Chennai.

The PFBR uses plutonium-uranium oxide as fuel and liquid sodium as coolant.

Disclosing this to reporters at Kalpakkam, in the presence of AERB chairman S.S. Bajaj on Wednesday, the BHAVINI CMD said all the construction works on setting up of the PFBR had been completed. However, the AERB, which was more interested in ensuring environmental and public safety than the schedule for attaining criticality, had made few more suggestions and these would be complied with, Mr. Kumar said.

Once the loading of liquid sodium was done, synchronisation of conventional auxiliary systems, switch yard for outgoing power transmission etc. could be carried out in a phased manner and criticality could be achieved in about six months, he said.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by arun »

Unit 1 of Kudankulam Power Plant to be Shut Down for 6 to 8 Weeks.

Major problem with Turbine reported.

Article datelined 10 days ago, i.e. Oct. 20th:

Unit 1 of Kudankulam Power Plant Shut Down for 6 to 8 Weeks
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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Going by the frequent outages at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, looks like the Russians have sold us a lemon.
Power outages at Kudankulam nuclear plant dangerous: Study

Laxmi Ajai Prasanna, TNN | Oct 29, 2014, 12.25AM IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: According to a study based on analysis of grid data, there have been 21 power outages at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) from Oct 22, 2013, to Oct 22, 2014. Of these 21 outages, 14 are "scrams'' or trips caused by faulty equipment or poor oversight, or both, and, according to experts, can be potentially catastrophic.

The first part of the study published in academia.edu, an online research community, points out that the maximum permitted trip rate -- calculated per 7,000 reactor hours -- is 0.37 for reactors across the world. Alarmingly, in Kudankulam (in its 4,701 hours of operation), the trip rate is projected at 20.8 per 7,000 reactor hours. In the US, a plant with 25 scrams during a 7,000-hour period is issued a "red" citation and will be forced to shut down.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers led by Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) scientist M J Joseph, Society of Science Environment and Ethics (SoSEE) chairman V T Padmanabhan and Dr R Ramesh, a medical practitioner, who has authored books on the geology of Kudankulam and is a member of Doctors for Safer Environment.

The main reason for the 'scrams' is old equipment, including reactor pressure vessels, turbines and polar cranes at KKNP, all imported from post-Chernobyl Soviet Union.

"Trip rate for KKNPP is 20.8 per 7,000 reactor hours, which is too high and can trigger an explosion leading to a nuclear disaster. It is due to the use of old equipment imported after Chernobyl nuclear disaster when the erstwhile Soviet Union cancelled the VVER-1000 reactors, a Russian version of the Pressurized Water Reactor," Prof Joseph said.

CUSAT scientist Prof M Sabir said, "If substandard materials are used in a nuclear reactor and if quality checks are not maintained, obviously chances of a disaster are high". He said that an earlier study conducted by scientists from CUSAT, Bremen University, Sussex University and based on official documents from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and their Russian counterparts had concluded that major equipment at KKNPP like the reactor pressure vessel and polar crane are outdated.

"Though China discarded such equipment after initial imports, India continued importing such equipment for KKNPP," Prof Joseph said.

Incidentally, a turbine generator system imported from Russian firm Silmash was involved in eight of the 14 trips reported at KKNPP. Three other trips and the pipe burst accident on May 14 this year (officially known as "warm water incident") were related to the feed water system. Both the feed water system and the turbine are located in the same auxiliary building.

According to the scientists, what could hamper remedial measures is the secretive manner in which relevant information is treated. At KKNPP, all documents related to functioning of the nuclear reactor are property of the Russian firm Atomstroy, which exports all nuclear power machinery.

Officials of the Department of Atomic Energy and AERB were unavailable for comment.
Weblink:

TOI
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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"Though China discarded such equipment after initial imports, India continued importing such equipment for KKNPP,"
So now the Chinese don't have these issues seems that is the purpose of quoting China project. Replacing faulty equipment therefore seems to be the simple straightforward logic here.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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European reactor manufacturer Areva which is negotiating with NPCIL for supplying 6 monster sized 1650 MW EPR model nuclear reactors for construction in Jaitapur in Maharashtra, is under severe financial stress.

Narrowly escapes downgrade to junk status.

Areva has not sold a nuclear reactor since 2007.

Working on designing a smaller 1100 MW reactor model named Atmea-1 with Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries:

Areva says bigger still better as political shake-up looms
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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Excerpt from the proceedings of the UN “First Committee (Disarmament and International Security)” 14 Nuclear Weapons-Related Drafts dealing with the Indian position.

Provides a good overview of India’s position on nuclear matters such as NPT, FMCT and Comprehensive Safeguards.

India takes the opportunity to assert that “Nuclear weapons were an integral part of India’s national security and would remain as such, pending global, verifiable, non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament” :

Proceedings also touch upon positions taken by other Nuclear Weapon possessing countries on the different proposals.

P.R.China has voted in favour of the proposal “to urge India, Israel and Pakistan to promptly accede to the Treaty as non-nuclear-weapon States and place all their nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.” . Seems P.R. China will not pass up an opportunity to annoy India even if it winds up annoying “Sweeter than Honey, taller than Himalaya’s and Deeper than Indian Ocean friend”, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan :
Speaking in explanation of vote on draft resolution “L.2/Rev.1”, the representative of India said he had abstained from the vote on the draft as a whole and voted “no” on preambular paragraphs 5 and 6, as the focus of the resolution should be limited to the region that it intended to address. He said that India’s position on NPT was well-known. The 1969 Vienna Convention provided that States were bound by the treaty based on the principle of pre-consent. The call on States outside that Treaty to accede to it was at variance with that principle and did not reflect current realities. India was not party to NPT and was not bound by its outcome documents.

Speaking in explanation of “L.12/Rev.1”, he said that India remained committed to the goal of complete elimination of nuclear weapons and continued to support a time-bound programme for global nuclear disarmament. Nevertheless, his country voted against the resolution as it could not accept the call to accede to NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon State, which negated the rules of customary international law as enshrined in the Vienna Law of treaties based on the principle of pre-consent. Nuclear weapons were an integral part of India’s national security and would remain as such, pending global, verifiable, non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament.

On “L.20”, the representative said that his country supported negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty in the Conference of Disarmament, and was participating in the work of the Group of Governmental Experts, which should strengthen international resolve to begin negotiations. He said that the Conference was the single multilateral forum for disarmament and hoped that substantive work would commence at an early date.

India had voted in favour of “L.21”, he said, noting that in 2012, it had abstained because of concerns related to the established disarmament machinery. While his country voted in favour of today’s resolution, he expressed concern about parallel initiatives that could impact the established disarmament machinery.

The representative said he had voted in favour of “L.22” as a whole, as it highlighted the importance of de-alerting nuclear weapons to reduce nuclear danger. He had abstained from the vote on preambular paragraph 8 due to his country’s established position on NPT.

On “L.36”, he said that India remained committed to the goal of global, verifiable nuclear disarmament and stressed the need for a step-by-step process through a multilateral framework. The resolution fell short of those objectives. India voted against operative paragraph 3 as it could not accept the call to accede to NPT as a non-nuclear weapons State. Nuclear weapons were an integral part of India’s national security and would remain so pending non-discriminatory and global nuclear disarmament. India had also abstained on operative paragraph 20 as the concept of comprehensive safeguard agreement was only applicable to nuclear-weapon States party to NPT. On operative paragraph 11, as India supported negotiations of a fissile material cut-off treaty through the Conference of Disarmament, the question of a moratorium had not arisen.
Proceedings available at the below UN web link. It is a long read:

More than 20 Recorded Votes Required in First Committee as It Forwards 14 Nuclear Weapons-Related Drafts to General Assembly
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/gov ... 94858.html

Govt cautious on West-discarded nuclear technology: Goyal
New Delhi: Striking a cautious note, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the government is looking at all options on nuclear energy but does not want to get saddled with "something" that has been discarded by the West.

He also said the Centre is trying to address issues with regard to civil nuclear liability issues.

"Nuclear has potential and has opportunities for India. This government is considering all options... In nuclear, we are seized of the problem and we are already trying to see how we can address the nuclear liability restrictions," Goyal said

...
Sounding cautious, Goyal said that the United States and many European nations have discontinued setting up of nuclear plants.

"This government would like to be cautious that we are not being saddled with something only under the garb of clean energy or alternate energy; something which the West has discarded and is sought to be brought to India," he said.

According to him, there is no estimate yet on the life-cycle costs of nuclear power right till the de-commissioning stage.

"I hear that US and Europe are also not developing new nuclear power plants. We are cautious about it as we don?t want to be saddled with an old asset in the garb of alternate energy," he added.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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"This government would like to be cautious that we are not being saddled with something only under the garb of clean energy or alternate energy; something which the West has discarded and is sought to be brought to India," he said.
:eek: Surprised in deed. Nice catch. There is also this curious phenomena that foreigners are not protesting against this when it was possible to fund demonstrations from afar in case of Russian nuclear power plants.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by member_24684 »

arun wrote:Going by the frequent outages at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, looks like the Russians have sold us a lemon.

I have to say one thing . The Reactor spent More days in the Repair mode only ..One week Power Generation and three week Maintenance
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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India, EU to sign civil nuclear pact by next year - PTI
In a major step towards realizing its nuclear energy ambitions, India is engaged in talks with the European Union to sign a civil nuclear cooperation agreement and the deal is expected to be inked by next year.

"An agreement is expected to be signed between the India's department of atomic energy and joint research centre of the European Union. It will mostly focus on areas of research and energy," EU's ambassador to India Joao Cravinho told PTI at the sidelines of an event last week.

Cravinho said talks between the two sides are on and the agreement should be signed next year. He, however, did not give any specific time frame on when the agreement will be inked.

"There were concerns raised by few countries about signing an agreement because India is not a signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, but there is a consensus on this now," he said.

Both the sides and countries within the EU are ironing out the differences over the "language" to be used in the draft.

"The countries are now discussing the language to be used in the draft. This should be resolved and the deal could be signed next year," Cravinho said.


India and the EU have been cooperating on various aspects like environment, sustainable development, renewable energy and clean technology.

The deal would provide a major boost to India's efforts in getting an entry to the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group, considering the clout of the EU on the global platform.

The technology transfer in various aspects related to nuclear sector, especially in the health sector, would benefit India, sources said.

After the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal, India has signed nuclear deals with Russia, Kazakhstan, United Kingdom, South Korea, Mongolia, and France.

It also signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with Australia in September, paving way to import uranium for its reactors.
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Kudankulam nuclear plant to start commercial ops by Jan 22 - PTI
Commercial operations of the first 1,000 MW unit of Kudankulam nuclear power project is now expected to start by January 22, 2015, as an earlier deadline could not be met due to technical problems.

The Nuclear Power Corporation, which is implementing the 2,000 MW plant, has received permission from the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) for extending the deadline for commercial operation.

The plant, having two units of 1,000 MW capacity each, is being set up with technical cooperation of Russia. The first unit could not start commercial operations by the earlier specified date of October 22 on account of certain technical problems.

Nuclear Power Corp submitted before the CERC that technical problem relating to the turbine would be resolved by December 22, 2014 and sought one month time “for eventualities” during the rectification work.

Taking into consideration the technical problem, the regulator in an order dated November 10 has allowed Nuclear Power Corp to inject infirm power into the grid for the commissioning tests including full load test of the first unit till January 22, 2015.

Infirm power refers to supply that is not committed and mainly fed into the grid as part of testing purposes.

At Unit-I, the first and second stage turbine blades and diaphragm have been damaged which are being replaced by taking from Unit-II, according to Nuclear Power Corp.

“The replacement of blades and diaphragm would take about from 7 to 8 weeks time. Therefore, the COD is expected to be achieved by January 22, 2015,” the company had told the CERC.

Successful testing of reactor, turbine-generator, feed water pump system and the control and protection system of different transients are mandatory as per Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, before declaring Commercial Operation Date (COD) of the project.

COD refers to the day from which the unit starts full commercial generation of electricity.

CERC has also asked the company to file a status report on rectification work carried out at the unit by December 30.

Nuclear Power Corp, after synchronised the unit into the grid on July 15, had earlier planned to start commercial operations in September.

“However, while raising power, an increase in turbine thrust bearing temperature was observed and the temperature touched operational limit on reaching power level of 850 MW.

“For attending to the technical problem, Turbine-Generator was taken off the bar and reactor was shut down on September 26, 2014,” the company has informed CERC.

“The replacement of blades and diaphragm would take about from 7 to 8 weeks time. Therefore, the COD is expected to be achieved by January 22, 2015,” the company had told the CERC.
.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

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American officials put up hurdles, try to scuttle India-US nuclear deal
NEW DELHI: A newly constituted contact group on civil nuclear issues between India and the US will meet for the first time in December, almost three months after it was announced. While the focus of the talks may be on nuclear liability matters, India is facing fresh obstacles from the US nuclear establishment.

The US is now demanding fresh bilateral safeguards to complete the final negotiations on the nuclear deal. These are in the nature of non-proliferation assurances, many of which have already been provided by India.

India and the US are yet to complete the administrative arrangements that are needed to operationalize the deal. This has taken over two years to complete, and despite a seemingly positive note from the Modi-Obama summit, Indians are hard put to find "problem-solvers" within the US system. In fact, there is a distinct feeling in India that elements within the US administration really don't want the nuclear deal to succeed. The Democrats in power now were at the vanguard of the opposition to the deal when it was being negotiated under a Republican administration.'

While this may not be the approach at the very top, it's becoming a regular feature among mid-level US officials, making progress on the deal increasingly tough. The upshot is that the delays Indians feel are being deliberately built in, will have an adverse impact on US companies — Westinghouse and GE — seeking to build nuclear reactors in India.

It's not that the issues are not difficult to deal with. Certainly on the issue of nuclear liability, India has to do a lot of heavy lifting to make it easier for Indian and foreign companies to invest in the nuclear energy sector. Moreover, getting a low enough price for nuclear power will be a challenge when commercial deals are negotiated. But the Indian negotiators say both countries are streets away from that space yet.

Under the separation plan, India has voluntarily put barriers between its civilian and strategic programmes, with the civilian sector under full IAEA safeguards. India added on the additional protocol with the IAEA, another layer of more intrusive verification. All of these are part of the India-US nuclear deal.

However, the US is now asking for fresh bilateral verifications, particularly on tracking of nuclear fuel through the entire cycle. This has posed fresh hurdles in the nuclear deal. India is unwilling to go down this road, believing, correctly, that this would undermine an international institution like the IAEA, not to speak of opening the door to more unilateral action in the nuclear sphere by states.

The Modi-Obama summit declared that India had completed the procedures necessary for joining the global non-proliferation regime of the four groups - Australia Group, Wassenaar Arrangement, Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). India would now want this process to be completed as soon as possible.


Although this issue is not on the new bilateral Contact Group's agenda, India is likely to highlight the US presidential commitment in the nuclear deal about facilitating its entry into these non-proliferation regimes.

When the green light flashes, India will be ready with a formal application. In the coming weeks, India is expected to push the Americans hard.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by ramana »

Hyde Act redux. Those prominent in enacting it have come to power and want to force it down India's throat. I guess they don't know what happened since it was enacted.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by SSridhar »

India pushes for entry into elite nuclear groups - Indrani Bagchi, ToI
Having got a thumbs up for compliance with global non-proliferation regimes, India has made a more determined pitch for early induction into four groups.

Showcasing India's non-proliferation credentials and the potential of Indian industry, foreign secretary Sujatha Singh told the India-US high technology cooperation group that the country's inclusion in the regimes would benefit US industry.

"The export control reforms are all about striking a balance between national security and economic interests, both of which are crucial for a sovereign state. We also appreciate that export control reforms are closely linked to policy interests as countries tend to associate the easing of export restrictions with increase in trust. A country cannot be a partner and target at the same time.

"India's impeccable non-proliferation records, our responsible behaviour as a nuclear state for more than three decades and strict adherence to a nuclear doctrine should continue to guide the expedited easing of export control restrictions. In today's global supply chain of multiple suppliers, these would also be in the interest of US industry," she said.

Calling for inclusion of India within a set timeline, Singh said, "We believe that India's membership of the four regimes will be mutually beneficial taking into account the common non- proliferation objectives, global industry linkages and the contributions that Indian industry can make with its expanding capabilities to the global economy."

Singh added, "I believe HTCG should not only respond to bilateral cooperative needs in the fields such as export control and licensing, but should look at the level of business and industry to shape itself into a more comprehensive technology strategy initiative that charts a template for public-private partnership."
Just recently, Modi's brother and Australian PM, Tony Abbot also spoke glowingly about India's impeccable non-proliferation record.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by kit »

There has been some recent breakthroughs in harnessing fusion energy ..don't have any links ..can some one post ? Also china is reportedly building the largest super collider for fusion research ..how come india is still lacking ... we have enough brain power !
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by Prem »

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-1 ... actor.html
Lockheed Developing Truck-Sized Nuclear Fusion Reactor
( BARC should take a peek and learn from Lockheed)
The reactor would be small enough to fit in a truck and generate enough energy to light 80,000 homes, the Bethesda, Maryland-based company said today. The reactor would burn less than 20 kilograms of fuel in a year, producing waste that’s “orders of magnitudes less” than the ash and sludge spewed from coal plants.Lockheed is building on 60 years of research into fusion, a technology that promises to release more energy than current commercial units using nuclear fission, without the risk of Fukushima-style meltdowns. The technology could be deployed within a decade and would be smaller and easier to make than competing concepts, Lockheed said in a statement today.“Our compact fusion concept combines several alternative magnetic confinement approaches, taking the best parts of each, and offers a 90 percent size reduction over previous concepts,” Tom McGuire, compact fusion lead for the Skunk Works’ Revolutionary Technology Programs, said in the statement.
If the concept proves successful, the technology could provide propulsive power that gives ships and large airplanes “unlimited range,” Lockheed said. Small fusion reactors could provide a cheap new source of electricity to utilities seeking alternatives to coal and gas, making desalinatio
member_22733
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by member_22733 »

Highly likely its this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywell

There is a small company in socal that used to work on this. They got funded by US Navy and went real quiet after that. This might be the fruits.

BTW the concept is very simple and the basics are opensource for any country to try and replicate.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by Tuvaluan »

All this "truck sized" reactor and "underground reactor in your backyard" (claimed about 5 years ago by US sources) and "thorium based nuclear plants" (claimed about 5 years ago) are all complete BS and just psy ops and planted articles. Do we really think the tools in charge of a country that has refused to build new nuclear power plants for fear of waste will suddenly start building portable power plants without revealing how these designs will cause any less waste than their earlier designs?

Besides there are no experimental fusion reactors in existence today, let alone portable ones -- lot of unsolved problems in making that a reality AFAIK.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by JTull »

How foreign NGOs fuel India's anti-uranium lobby

'We need uranium to fuel our reactors. Our scientists and engineers have been handling uranium safely since 1967. They must not feel disheartened by the activities of well motivated local or foreign agencies,' says Dr K S Parthasarathy.

How foreign agencies spend funds to influence public opinion in India is an interesting, intriguing and challenging question.

The Ploughshares Fund, the anti-nuclear US charity gave $20,000 (about Rs 12 lakh/Rs 1.2 million) to Indian Doctors for Peace and Development to 'support public education campaign, policymaker education and media work around the proposed expansion of uranium mining in India for purposes of nuclear energy and weapons expansion and the related public health impacts.'

The IDPD, the Indian affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, conducted a health survey in the villages near the uranium mine and mill at Jadugoda in Jhakhand. It bypassed the peer review process which is essential for such studies and published its 'findings' in newspapers.

Only vigilant journalists can arrest this lamentable trend. The Ploughshares Fund did not care about such niceties as its aim was to plant seeds of suspicion among the villagers and the public at large.

IPPNW published the IDPD 'study' as a presentation on its Web site. On November 9, I asked John Loretz, the programme director, IPPNW, how the agency can justify displaying scientifically unsubstantiated results on its Web site.

IPPNW's ultimate objective is to prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons. I asked Loretz whether he thinks any means followed for it is justified, as it is, in his view, for the greater good.

I pointed out that uranium resources in India are used to operate research reactors that produce life-saving radioisotopes and that opposing uranium mining blindly is not justified.

Rather than answering the questions he called me the industry mouthpiece posing as a freelance journalist!

Earlier, I asked, Paul Caroll, the programme director, Ploughshares Fund, details of the IDPD project including its full scope and its final report with details of the amounts spent to carry out different elements of the project.

Caroll wrote that he was not at liberty to provide detailed internal information about the expenditures of the project team.

'My own sense is that the project was successful in its goals,' he asserted.

That means the project 'educated' the public against expansion of uranium mining in India. Protracted correspondence with him yielded only limited information. He refused to hand over a copy of the final report and the details of how IDPD used the fund.

IDPD presented the study at an anti-nuclear seminar in London in 2007 and at the 18th World Congress of the IPPNW at New Delhi on March 10, 2008. It has been presenting the study at several meetings since then. The US charity got value for its money.

The IDPD's paper (external link) is a 'cherry picking' analysis. As the US charity expected, IDPD assumed that specific health problems related to uranium mining was affecting the indigenous people disproportionately in the study villages compared to the reference villages and then searched for evidence to support the assumption.

It sent 34 investigators from the same villages to every household and collected replies to a questionnaire.

'Responses to some of the variables in few of the interview schedules were not found to be satisfactory and such responses were not considered for data analysis,' the authors innocently and brazenly admitted to 'cherry picking' of the data. Lorentz's irritation is understandable.

Another avatar of an anti-uranium mining agency is the International Uranium Film Festival, a foreign organisation founded in 2010 in Brazil. In 2013, anti-uranium mining activists held the IUFF in Mumbai, Shillong, Ranchi, Manipal, Hyderabad, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai and Thrissur. In 2014, it held the IUFF in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Manipal, Bangalore and Tatanagar.

IUFF claims to make people aware of every aspect of nuclear energy including the risks involved through 'the motion pictures containing soulful human stories.' Never mind, there is no scientific basis for the claims on adverse impacts of nuclear energy or uranium mining. This strategy turns unsuspecting sections of society against nuclear energy.

IUFF wins the emotional game because specialists knowledgeable in the health and safety aspects of uranium mining are mostly in their cocooned existence in the units of the Department of Atomic Energy.

IUFF organised photo-exhibitions and presented video documentaries at every venue. 'Documentary' makers vied with each other for the limited pie. IUFF provides a platform to young aspirants to interact with film makers and others working on nuclear issues.

Shri Prakash, a videographer of Jadugoda documentaries, is presently the South Asia Director of IUFF. IUFF-2015 may exhibit 60 new (in my view, anti) nuclear films in India.

Indian scientists should call the bluff and wipe out this barrage of disinformation on nuclear energy.

During the 1990s, the media reported that individuals residing close to the uranium mines and milling facilities were suffering from several diseases, deformities among children and infertility amongst women. An NGO made the claim that many women in Chattikocha village in Jadugoda had changes in their menstrual cycle and had 'gynaecological' problems and infertility.

Twenty-six specialists including physicians from outside the DAE did not find any radiation related abnormalities in the villagers in three separate surveys.

The ministry of health and family welfare reviewed the health reports and informed the National Human Rights Commission that there is no need for any further health survey in Jadugoda.

On April 15, 2004, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition (188/1999) demanding judicial intervention to have the necessary steps taken to safeguard the health of the population.

Some foreign agencies are attempting to reopen a settled issue.

The Uranium Corporation of India Limited must proactively travel an extra mile to explain to the public, how they comply with all applicable safety standards.

We need uranium to fuel our reactors. With the available uranium, the average capacity factor of a group of Indian reactors clocked 94 per cent, far more than most reactors in the world. Our scientists and engineers have been handling uranium safely since 1967. They must not feel disheartened by the activities of well motivated local or foreign agencies.

Dr K S Parthasarathy is a former secretary of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.

Dr K S Parthasarathy
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by arun »

arun wrote:Excerpt from the proceedings of the UN “First Committee (Disarmament and International Security)” 14 Nuclear Weapons-Related Drafts dealing with the Indian position.

Provides a good overview of India’s position on nuclear matters such as NPT, FMCT and Comprehensive Safeguards.

India takes the opportunity to assert that “Nuclear weapons were an integral part of India’s national security and would remain as such, pending global, verifiable, non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament” :

Proceedings also touch upon positions taken by other Nuclear Weapon possessing countries on the different proposals.

P.R.China has voted in favour of the proposal “to urge India, Israel and Pakistan to promptly accede to the Treaty as non-nuclear-weapon States and place all their nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.” . Seems P.R. China will not pass up an opportunity to annoy India even if it winds up annoying “Sweeter than Honey, taller than Himalaya’s and Deeper than Indian Ocean friend”, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan :
Speaking in explanation of vote on draft resolution “L.2/Rev.1”, the representative of India said he had abstained from the vote on the draft as a whole and voted “no” on preambular paragraphs 5 and 6, as the focus of the resolution should be limited to the region that it intended to address. He said that India’s position on NPT was well-known. The 1969 Vienna Convention provided that States were bound by the treaty based on the principle of pre-consent. The call on States outside that Treaty to accede to it was at variance with that principle and did not reflect current realities. India was not party to NPT and was not bound by its outcome documents.

Speaking in explanation of “L.12/Rev.1”, he said that India remained committed to the goal of complete elimination of nuclear weapons and continued to support a time-bound programme for global nuclear disarmament. Nevertheless, his country voted against the resolution as it could not accept the call to accede to NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon State, which negated the rules of customary international law as enshrined in the Vienna Law of treaties based on the principle of pre-consent. Nuclear weapons were an integral part of India’s national security and would remain as such, pending global, verifiable, non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament.

On “L.20”, the representative said that his country supported negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty in the Conference of Disarmament, and was participating in the work of the Group of Governmental Experts, which should strengthen international resolve to begin negotiations. He said that the Conference was the single multilateral forum for disarmament and hoped that substantive work would commence at an early date.

India had voted in favour of “L.21”, he said, noting that in 2012, it had abstained because of concerns related to the established disarmament machinery. While his country voted in favour of today’s resolution, he expressed concern about parallel initiatives that could impact the established disarmament machinery.

The representative said he had voted in favour of “L.22” as a whole, as it highlighted the importance of de-alerting nuclear weapons to reduce nuclear danger. He had abstained from the vote on preambular paragraph 8 due to his country’s established position on NPT.

On “L.36”, he said that India remained committed to the goal of global, verifiable nuclear disarmament and stressed the need for a step-by-step process through a multilateral framework. The resolution fell short of those objectives. India voted against operative paragraph 3 as it could not accept the call to accede to NPT as a non-nuclear weapons State. Nuclear weapons were an integral part of India’s national security and would remain so pending non-discriminatory and global nuclear disarmament. India had also abstained on operative paragraph 20 as the concept of comprehensive safeguard agreement was only applicable to nuclear-weapon States party to NPT. On operative paragraph 11, as India supported negotiations of a fissile material cut-off treaty through the Conference of Disarmament, the question of a moratorium had not arisen.
Proceedings available at the below UN web link. It is a long read:

More than 20 Recorded Votes Required in First Committee as It Forwards 14 Nuclear Weapons-Related Drafts to General Assembly
Recommendations of UN “First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) adopted by the UN General Assembly in the teeth of India's opposition:

General Assembly Adopts 63 Drafts on First Committee’s Recommendation with Nuclear Disarmament at Core of Several Recorded Votes
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by Amber G. »

Interesting to see:



Leading Pakistani Scientist (Nobel prize winner- Dr. Abdus Salam) Effusively Praising Great Indian Nuclear Physicist Dr. Homi Bhabha.

This is from United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, held in 1955. He calls Dr. Bhabha a "Supremo", "Great Wizard", terms his speech "electrifying"..
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by Neshant »

Jhujar wrote: Lockheed Developing Truck-Sized Nuclear Fusion Reactor
I vaguely remember Toshiba getting into this research area a couple of years ago.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by Tuvaluan »

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-2 ... ctors.html

NEshant, this was from 2011 -- the claim is that Toshiba was testing that mini reactor in the Alaskan village of Galena. No word since, and the website of that tiny town seems to have nothing to say about any such thing....you would think their public health and safety page would mention such a thing as an active nuclear plant in the town. Makes one suspect that this is all mostly utter BS and planted news. Bloomberg is not about to report classified news items, and if this is not classified, why is it being kept a secret from the citizens of Galena, Alaska?

http://www.ci.galena.ak.us/
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by arun »

arun wrote:Unit 1 of Kudankulam Power Plant to be Shut Down for 6 to 8 Weeks.

Major problem with Turbine reported.

Article datelined 10 days ago, i.e. Oct. 20th:

Unit 1 of Kudankulam Power Plant Shut Down for 6 to 8 Weeks
arun wrote:Going by the frequent outages at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, looks like the Russians have sold us a lemon.
Power outages at Kudankulam nuclear plant dangerous: Study

Laxmi Ajai Prasanna, TNN | Oct 29, 2014, 12.25AM IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: According to a study based on analysis of grid data, there have been 21 power outages at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) from Oct 22, 2013, to Oct 22, 2014. Of these 21 outages, 14 are "scrams'' or trips caused by faulty equipment or poor oversight, or both, and, according to experts, can be potentially catastrophic.

.................{Snipped}...............
Weblink:

TOI
Brand new Kudankulam Unit 1 stutters back to life after yet another one of its frequent shut downs due to faults:

Power generation begins at Kudankulam
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by arun »

Russia to supply 12 new Nuclear reactors starting with Units 3 and 4 of Kudankulam.

Lessons with regard to Russian sliminess with previous contracts for supply of Nuclear reactors at Kudankulam and refurbishment of INS Vikramaditya must be paid heed to. India must ensure swinging penalties are built into the contract for delays and shoddy quality; a robust product guarantee regime besides shutting out any possibility of the Russian’s indulging in price gouging by claiming arbitrary mid contract price escalations.:
Strategic Vision for Strengthening Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy Between the Republic of India and the Russian Federation

December 11, 2014 …………………………………….

2 (2). The Sides express satisfaction over the progress towards putting into commercial operation Unit-1 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP), which achieved full rated power in July 2014. They also agreed to take necessary steps to expedite commissioning of Unit-2 of the KKNPP. The Sides welcomed the entry into force of the General Framework Agreement (GFA) of April 10, 2014 for KKNPP Units 3 and 4, with the signing of Amendment No. 1 to GFA as well as the signing of the contract for delivery of equipment with long manufacturing cycle and first priority equipment from the Russian Federation for implementation of projects for KKNPP Units 3 and 4. ……………………………..

3.1 Nuclear power

3.1(1). Conscious of India’s ambitious economic growth strategy, which would require a significant enhancement of power generating capacity, the two Sides have decided to fast-track the implementation of agreed cooperation projects for Nuclear Power Plants. Both Sides will strive to complete the construction and commissioning of not less than 12 units in the next two decades, in accordance with the Agreement of 2008. Towards this objective, the Indian side agrees to expeditiously identify a second site, in addition to Kudankulam, for the construction of the Russian-designed nuclear power units in India. The Sides will join their expertise and resources to minimize the total cost and time of construction of nuclear power units. ……………………….

MEA
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by arun »

Hindu Frontline carries an article by T.S.Subramanian on the 700 MWe RAPS / RAPP Unit 7 and RAPS / RAPP Unit 8 coming up at Rawatbhatta.

RAPP 7 is expected to be commissioned in early 2018, and RAPP-8 scheduled to reach criticality a few months later:

Safety First
arun
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by arun »

Hindu Frontline also carries an article by T.S.Subramanian on our nuclear fuel reprocessing programme that this year is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary:

Towards nuclear self-reliance
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by member_24684 »

.

I once Heard Indian Railway has Plans to Operate Nuke Power Plants to get their Power directly from it ..For that they selected some 4 or 5 hubs/places . and said before 2025 Railway gets dedicated Power source through nuke reactors


any Information about the New Nuke deal with Russia ...mentions above
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by SaiK »

never read such a short article from TSS
http://www.frontline.in/other/data-card ... epage=true

but then there is some interesting note on waste mgmt. where it is finally going to go!

not sure, about microbial corrosion on stainless steel
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1492953

may leak some 100k years (depending on corrosion) but should something to think about. may be they can provide a biofilm coating to counter act.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by Kakkaji »

Seoul nuke option signal to US
New Delhi, Dec. 25: India will next week signal to South Korea its willingness to buy Seoul’s nuclear reactors if talks with other nations fail, a move that will help New Delhi pressure American companies unconvinced about a controversial liability law ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit.

Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj will fly to Seoul this weekend for annual talks on Monday with her South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se that are expected to focus on enhancing trade ties and nudging the east Asian nation to invest in “smart cities” in India.

But nuclear trade will form a key element of their larger conversation about economic relations, and Yun is expected to iterate an offer South Korea has made previously: a readiness to sell India reactors without conditions many other nations have placed.

Sushma, senior officials said, is expected to indicate that India —which till now has been coy about South Korea’s offer — will seriously explore the proposal, at a time nuclear talks between New Delhi and Washington remain stuck over the liability law.

There has been no breakthrough on the nuclear talks with the US, and I don’t see why we shouldn’t keep our options open,” a senior Indian official familiar with nuclear talks told The Telegraph. “And the South Korean option increasingly appears a good option.”

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington in September, India and the US had decided to set up a panel of experts — called a contact group — that would meet to try and resolve differences that have held up the implementation of their landmark 2008 nuclear deal.

The contact group met for two days on December 16-17 here but failed to arrive at even a timeline to resolve the differences, which revolve around India’s nuclear liability law which American firms have dubbed draconian and loaded against suppliers.

The expert panel is scheduled to meet early next month in a desperate bid to demonstrate some progress on the deadlock by the time Obama lands as chief guest for the Republic Day on January 26.

But Indian officials concede that the next meet of the India-US panel may not yield any tangible breakthrough either, and that New Delhi is increasingly exploring other options to import reactors.

South Korea features prominently as an option because unlike the US and many other nations, Seoul has not opposed the liability law.

Sushma is not expected to seal any nuclear deal with South Korea during her visit next week, officials said.

But even serious talks about Seoul's proposal will, the officials said, send a message India wants the US to hear: New Delhi wants American reactors, but will manage just fine without them.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by krishnan »

we cant design our own ?
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by SSridhar »

Hats off to the 'realpolitik' of Modi.
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Re: India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Post by krishnan »

was that for my post or above mine :-?
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