India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 28 Feb 2013 21:04

Bade saar,

Will the tunnel affect the water table? There have been a few ill fated
Projects in that area that ended up striking underground aquifers.
In one noted case near Aryankadu the mountain springs immediately dried up
causing animals to leave and waterfalls to cease.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 28 Feb 2013 22:06

That is an issue that will need to be resolved at Theni too, or any other site. Hopefully, GSI would have the expertise to determine that. Even that current science article (opinion column) mentions GSI involvement, though the authors have a different take on it.

Personal whims: Theni is much closer to home so can I dream up a post retirement hobby if allowed to participate. The way things are going it might take another decade. I was optimistic about INO late years of the last millennium, so were dozens of fresh PhDs from India that I knew who wanted to R2I on projects like these in India, rather than having to R2I to work at CERN or Fermilab from India. Many have left the field. This was right after PoK-II and visa regime issues. This is all getting too late not just for that generation, but runs the risk of other upcoming projects in US/Europe/China making it redundant with no seminal science outcome. That is a bigger risk with all these delays.

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 28 Feb 2013 22:46

Bade wrote:^^ That sounds a selective choice of approved methods based on personal whims.

Being selective is everything sir, discrimination is the mark of the wise. Hans picks between water and milk.

The act of judging tell more about the judge than the person/object of judgement.

The issue with the Wayanad belt is that we may not be able to turn back the clock, but at least let us try and not brutalize what we have further.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 01 Mar 2013 00:33

No, I am being more discriminatory than you perhaps. I am asking for taking back all those plantations and giving it back to unchained nature, to restore the ecosystem. One highly control accessed laboratory in Wayanad or elsewhere is not going to destroy the ecological balance. We are not even talking about reactors or other hazmat issues to affect people's or even animal health.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 06 Mar 2013 03:31

Raat ke Panchi Still Bajaying Their Bansi: Yeh Chronic Khaansi Cause Haansi In Jhansi

The Tortoise and the Hare
Here’s a new development: some in India now worry in public about Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities. Indian influentials tend to match up to China and look down on Pakistan. Lately, New Delhi’s strategic calculations have become more complicated. Vice Admiral (ret.) Verghese Koithara’s book, Managing India’s Nuclear Forces (2012), details a lethargic Indian approach to operationalizing its deterrent, unlike Pakistan’s determined approach to the Bomb. the United States and China haven’t leveraged Rawalpindi to exercise restraint, don’t be surprised and don’t bother interfering if New Delhi accelerates the pace of its strategic programs. Koithara, Saran, and Shankar seem to presume that Rawalpindi’s expanding nuclear requirements can be influenced by Washington and are still encouraged by Beijing. These assumptions, widely held in India, are suspect elsewhere.
The most likely — albeit brutally difficult — way to moderate a nuclear competition is through top-down, sustained diplomatic engagement. This condition remains unmet fifteen years after India and Pakistan tested nuclear devices. One reason: many in India’s Ministry of External Affairs assume that direct dialogue between India and Pakistan on nuclear risk reduction is unlikely to be useful. This assumption may well be right, but it would be more persuasive if New Delhi worked harder at it.Since the 1998 tests, nuclear programs on the subcontinent have progressed in Aesopian fashion, with Pakistan being the hare to India’s tortoise. Pakistan is competing effectively on producing nuclear weapons and their means of delivery with a country with an economy that is nine times bigger. India, the tortoise in this instance, is moving ahead quite steadily, but not nearly as fast as its capacity to compete. If India were to move at a pace more commensurate with its size and capacity, Pakistan would be well behind in this competition.
One reason for India’s measured pace is a systemic underestimation of how serious Rawalpindi takes its nuclear requirements. Before the 1998 Pokhran tests, Indian political leaders, civil servants, and defense scientists were surprised by Pakistan’s flight-test of the Ghauri. After the Pokhran tests, they were surprised by Pakistan’s quick rejoinder. They are now surprised by Rawalpindi’s attachment to short-range delivery systems for nuclear weapons.India’s nuclear program has always been constrained by duality, seeking the moral high ground while still attending to national security imperatives. George Perkovich describes this duality in India’s Nuclear Bomb (1999) as an odd combination of “defiant assertiveness” and “diffident timidity.” These countervailing patterns run so deep that, despite Pakistan’s nuclear exertions, New Delhi’s measured pace of attending to its deterrent might not change appreciably. Koithara, Saran, and Shankar constitute the public vanguard of efforts to rouse Indian decision-makers to quicken their pace and to take operational requirements more seriously.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 15 Mar 2013 00:37

BARC scientist commits suicide

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 15 Mar 2013 03:04

Jhujar wrote:Raat ke Panchi Still Bajaying Their Bansi: Yeh Chronic Khaansi Cause Haansi In Jhansi

The Tortoise and the Hare Indian influentials tend to match up to China and look down on Pakistan. Lately, New Delhi’s strategic calculations have become more complicated.

Before the 1998 Pokhran tests, Indian political leaders, civil servants, and defense scientists were surprised by Pakistan’s flight-test of the Ghauri. After the Pokhran tests, they were surprised by Pakistan’s quick rejoinder. They are now surprised by Rawalpindi’s attachment to short-range delivery systems for nuclear weapons[/b].India’s nuclear program has always been constrained by duality, seeking the moral high ground while still attending to national security imperatives. George Perkovich describes this duality in India’s Nuclear Bomb (1999) as an odd combination of “defiant assertiveness” and “diffident timidity.” These countervailing patterns run so deep that, despite Pakistan’s nuclear exertions, New Delhi’s measured pace of attending to its deterrent might not change appreciably. Koithara, Saran, and Shankar constitute the public vanguard of efforts to rouse Indian decision-makers to quicken their pace and to take operational requirements more seriously.

Looks like a bogus article

ravit · Post by **ravit** » 16 Mar 2013 02:55

People near some Australian wind farms, targeted by activists, are complaining about illness(vibro acoustic disease

) . A study says it is psychological response from the campaign by the activists. Anti-nuclear campaign in Kudankulam might have the same affects.

Sickness being attributed to wind turbines is more likely to have been caused by people getting alarmed at the health warnings circulated by activists, an Australian study has found.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... -australia

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 16 Mar 2013 09:01

Acharya wrote:
Jhujar wrote:The Tortoise and the Hare
India’s nuclear program has always been constrained by duality, seeking the moral high ground while still attending to national security imperatives. George Perkovich describes this duality in India’s Nuclear Bomb (1999) as an odd combination of “defiant assertiveness” and “diffident timidity.” These countervailing patterns run so deep that, despite Pakistan’s nuclear exertions, New Delhi’s measured pace of attending to its deterrent might not change appreciably.
Looks like a bogus article

What part of the above looks bogus to you, Acharya ?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 17 Mar 2013 02:40

Pakistan 'expanding nuclear arsenal to deter US attack'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ttack.html

sia's triangular arms race has traditionally reflected the rivalries between India and China and India and Pakistan, but according to an influential former adviser to Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, Pakistan now regards the United States as a potential threat.
In an article for The Hindu newspaper, Shyam Saran said Islamabad had invested in a new generation of plutonium-based warheads, increased the size range of its arsenal, and improved the accuracy of its missiles.Washington has voiced its concerns over the build-up in the region but believes it reflects Pakistan's long-standing fear of arch rival India's conventional force superiority.But according to Mr Saran, Islamabad's burgeoning nuclear arsenal is increasingly aimed at deterring its fractious ally in the war on terror, the United States. Its fear that Washington may strike to wipe out Pakistan's nuclear capability dates back to just after the 9/11 attacks when then President Musharraf said it had been warned to support the war on terror or face being "bombed back to the stone age."
Despite his acquiescence, relations between the two countries have been strained ever since and reached their lowest point following the 2011 special forces raid which killed Osama bin Laden at his home in the centre of Pakistan's main garrison town A BarriBattaabad."While the immediate threat to its strategic assets passed, Pakistan's suspicions of US intentions in this regard have now risen to the level of paranoia," Mr Saran said.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 20 Mar 2013 20:00

Centre sanctions two more n-plants for Kudankulam - The Hindu
Good news.

As engineers race to commission the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam, the government has given its nod to build two more such units of 1,000 MW at the site in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.

The Cabinet Committee on Security, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday evening, approved the proposal to grant administrative and financial sanction for building units 3&4 at Kudankulam site, officials said.

The decision comes at a time when engineers of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) are working to commission the first 1,000 MW unit of the Kudankulam nuclear power project.

Sources said the estimated cost of building the two plants has been pegged at Rs. 20 crore per megawatt.

The CCS nod paves the way for signing of the general framework agreement (GFA) between NPCIL and Russian suppliers of nuclear equipment.

The GFA will spell out the terms and conditions for building the two 1,000 MW VVER-type reactors at Kudankulam.

As per the agreement between India and Russia, a total of six nuclear power plants can be built at Kudankulam.

Last year, Indian and Russia had signed a protocol for funding two new units at Kudankulam.

As per the protocol, Russia will extend an export credit of $3.400 billion to Russian organisations to help build the units at four per cent interest.

The Kudankulam project is part of a comprehensive Inter-governmental agreement (IGA) signed between India and the erstwhile USSR in 1988 for cooperation in areas of peaceful uses of atomic energy.

A fresh IGA was signed between India and the Russian Federation in December 2008 which provided for construction of four more nuclear power units at Kudankulam.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 21 Mar 2013 02:06

Fukushima: Rat linked to outage at Japan nuclear plant

Did Japanese do Ganesh puja when they started this nuke plant?

vish_mulay · Post by **vish_mulay** » 21 Mar 2013 08:18

Prafool puking in Australia.
Aust could fuel India 'nuclear accident'
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/br ... 6602027160

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 21 Mar 2013 23:11

This will help in expediting the pace of our Nuke PowerPlant building.Pretty much the only thing we need from Japan in this field.

Good News For India: MMS Pressed For this on His Last visit
Japan Steel May Forge Ventures to Make Nuclear Parts in Asia

Japan Steel Works Ltd. (5631), a nuclear parts supplier for customers from Areva SA (AREVA) to Hitachi Ltd. (6501), is considering tieups in Southeast Asia and India after the Fukushima disaster squeezed demand at home and in the U.S.　The company will have a tough time generating orders in the next two years, President Ikuo Sato said in an interview in Tokyo. Forging ventures to make valves, tubes and other smaller parts involved in nuclear reactor construction will help open export markets for key products, he said.“If we’re able to form such partnerships, it will be easier to enter such markets,” Sato said. “It will be necessary for us to tie with companies” that are seeking to improve their access to technology.Emerging markets offer an opportunity for growth amid growing opposition to nuclear power in Japan and elsewhere after the Fukushima tsunami and earthquake prompted the shutdown of almost all Japan’s atomic stations.
Japan Steel operates the only plant in the world capable of producing the central part of a nuclear reactor’s containment vessel in a single piece, reducing the risk of a radiation leak. The company said on Nov. 16 that orders for forged steel used in nuclear and thermal power plants would probably total 30 billion yen ($312 million) in the year ending March 31, 43 percent lower than levels two years ago.
“Given that it will be difficult for the company to expect demand in Japan, the key is to what extent they will be able to secure overseas projects, especially in China,” said Ryo Tazaki, an analyst at Nomura Securities Co. in Tokyo.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 27 Mar 2013 23:51

Kudankulam to start operating next month: PM

During his second meeting in four months with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the first unit of Kudankulam Unit I in Tamil Nadu will be operationalised next month. He also told Mr. Putin that the Cabinet Committee on Security’s had given sanction to units 3 and 4 at the same site. Official sources have in the past said the second unit could be commissioned six months after the first unit starts generating power. This means that the second unit could go on stream in November if the first one starts functioning in April. The plant has been the focus of protests by anti-nuclear activists who have drawn attention to the meltdown at the Fukushima plant in Japan as well as the non-application of the Liability Law on the first two units.

The Centre will now allocate 1,000 MW to Tamil Nadu from the total generation of 2,000 MW (of the first two units), against the original proposal of 930 MW.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 01 Apr 2013 23:44

From the news...
The famous water hole shown in the movie Awara is to be used as a Neutrino Detector
The famous water hole shown in the movie Awara is to be used as a Neutrino Detector.

The location for the immortal song “dam bhar jo udhar muh phere” was a back lot water hole in RK movie studio. Now this famous water hole has found a new use after more than sixty years.

Awaara water hole - iconic scene

The Indian government has approved plans to reuse what was one of many temporary structures as an underground neutrino detector. Physicists will dismantle the water hole and rebuild it at the bottom of a salt mine near the Salumbar salt lake in Arawali hills in Rajasthan, where the 37 m pool will be filled with 1.8 million liters of ultra-pure water. Interestingly Salumbar hills is in the famous “cave” location depicted in the 1965 Bollywood blockbuster Guide. Neutrinos striking the water will, very occasionally, create charged particles that generate small bursts of Cerenkov radiation. This light will then be detected using a new type of detector that will line the inside wall of the pool.

RK Studio has always intended to reuse the water hole for good purpose once the right project is found. The water hole’s move to Salumbar is being funded by the USA’s DoD’s Leveraging Artistic Creativity with the Sciences (LACS) program. which is seeking to find scientific uses of movie studio infrastructure. LACS managing director, Kiran Mehta, a former actress and a physicist, told physicsworld.com that neutrinos and the Bollywood movies were "a perfect fit" because "like movies”, neutrinos push the limits of speed and imagination - possibly travelling faster than the speed of light for billions of light-years. Neutrinos, in the true sense of physics, are ultimate “awaara” (vagabond) “

Known as the Awara Muon Imaging Neutrino Tank (AMINT), the new facility will detect neutrinos via the muons that are produced when neutrinos interact with the ultrapure water. The international collaboration behind the project had spent several years looking for a suitable pool to hold the 1800 m3 of water needed to conduct its research, before realizing the awaara water hole was just the right size.
AMINT spokesperson Ruchita Godbole told physicsworld.com that the main focus of the research will be to study neutrinos created when ultra-high-energy cosmic rays collide with nuclei in the atmosphere. AMINT beat a competing experiment called the Low-energy Indirect Detector Orb for use of the water hole.

When the project is finished by April 2014, the water hole will be taken apart tile by tile. All 8000 tiles will then be sent to the Duke University to be coated with multiple layers of graphene. When reassembled, the tiles will become the world's fastest neutrino detector – thanks to the fact that electrons in graphene are able to move nearly as fast as light.

Nobel Laureate CV Raman.

Inspired by a 1971 photograph of Nobel laureate C. V. Raman taking a dip in the water surrounding his home made Raman effect detector in Banglore, AMINT will allow restricted swimming movie scenes filmed for special occasions in the reused water hole, provided that users shower with ultra-pure water first.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 03 Apr 2013 18:50

Awara Nutrino and Awara Actor/Physicist on April Fool day. Should we not have a separate thread for April Fools day to avoid such nonsense.

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 03 Apr 2013 19:18

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/fishermen-lay-siege-to-housing-colony-of-kudankulam-nuclear-power-plant-employees/1097137/

S P Udhayakumar, convenor of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy, spearheading the stir against the plant, said the agitation was only for their welfare.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 05 Apr 2013 23:00

Russian expert vouches for Kudankulam safety

Dudkin told the paper that the VVER – 1000 technology, which has been used in the reactors under construction at Kudankulam, was a proven one, as two similar reactors constructed by his company, Atomstroyexport, a Rosatom subsidiary were functioning well in China.

“Inter-governmental agreement had been signed for constructing two nuclear reactors of 1,000 MWe in Bangladesh and construction on two reactors with similar capacity is to be started at Vietnam. Of course, we have planned to construct four more reactors at Kudankulam. This is purely because of the highest quality standards Russia has evolved over the years and the components with exceptionally superior quality,” The Hindu quoted Dudkin as saying.

Dudkin also told the paper that a number of passive safety measures installed had made the reactors the safest in the world. The report said that the passive heat removal system that could extract the residual heat from the reactors even during absolute power cut, quick boron injection system, the core catcher that would cover completely even the melted core, hydro accumulators and an array of few more safety features had made the KNPP reactors unique in the industry.

In fact, we will be pleased to introduce such futuristic safety measures in the reactors we are going to construct in other parts of the world,” Dudkin told the paper.

The Kudankulam units comprise of 1,000 MW reactors of the VVER-1000 model being constructed by NPCIL and Russia’s Atomstroyexport.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 05 Apr 2013 23:16

^^^ Speaking of safety, one should not forget that there is MUCH higher price to pay if we do not open (or delay) Kudankulam type plants..

xpost:

Historic perspective.. how many lives Nuclear power saved!

I wish Amitji, Guruprabhu and all others who took interest and debated Germany's decision to shut down Nuclear power to protect lives see this recent article by Pushker A. Kharecha, and James E Hansen (I hope this hits major Indian and other newspapers to educate the public)

Prevented mortality and greenhouse gas emissions from historical and projected nuclear power

This article is just published in a prestigious peer reviewed journal and this landmark study makes a dramatic case for nuclear power. Indian stake holders must study this report. I do wish brf becomes part of the solution by letting this forum be a source for public education.

Some interesting findings...

wrt Germany:

In Germany, which has announced plans to shut down all reactors by 2022, we calculate that nuclear power has prevented an average of over 117,000 deaths from 1971-2009"

For the whole world..

The results are projected total emissions that would have probably led to the deaths of 1.84 million people between 1971 and 2009 based on average mortality estimates from fossil combustion pollution. This is probably an underestimate, said Hansen and co-author Pushker Kharecha, noting that the life-cycle mortality estimates are the biggest source of uncertainty in the report:

(BTW, The higher estimate for lives saved by nuclear energy, the study estimates is over 7.5 million - and these figures still do not count a range of serious respiratory illnesses, cancers, etc..)

And, those who still panic from wildly expressed fear from Fukushima radiation...

The absence of evidence of large mortality from past nuclear accidents is consistent with recent findings that the 'linear no-threshold' model used to derive the nuclear mortality factor might not be valid for the relatively low radiation doses that the public was exposed to from nuclear power plant accidents."

svenkat · Post by **svenkat** » 07 Apr 2013 18:46

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 07 Apr 2013 19:51

svenkat wrote:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Inferior-parts-being-used-in-Kudankulam-Nuclear-Power-Plant-Top-scientist/articleshow/19423146.cms

The Centre, speeding up the process to commission the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, received a jolt from one of the country's noted nuclear scientist{ ???} and former chairman of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) A Gopalakrishnan, who raised doubts about the quality of equipment in the plant. "Sub-standard materials have come to the Kudankulam plant and they are causing problems," he alleged.....
.

Ahh .."GopalKrishnan ...!! Not surprised

Here is another piece by him, in 2012:

Stop Kudankulam fuelling, lives are at stake!

Of course, one just have to search for "Gopalakrishnan" name in brf, to see that , he ROUTINELY will make such statements.. irrespective of facts. Along with such people (see the reference in other posts referenced here) Teesta Setalvad, Romila Thapar, Ramachandra Guha, dancers Leela Samson... Nirupam Sen, retired Navy chief L. Ramdas, writers Arundhati Roy and Nayantara Sahgal, scientists M.V. Ramana and P.M. Bhargava, artists Krishen Khanna and... Vivan Sundaram, ..who have been his co-authors or partners in many "peace activities".. human-rights forums and "fact-finding" missions..
(Last one posted in brf (and posted in scaw.net) was about dead men died by the Fukushima radiation - and how it is equally dangerous for India...(These rumor mongers did not even care that they were no deaths in Fukushima due to radiation)

To me, it was interesting to note that the same fan-club here in brf, who endlessly quoted this nuclear expert in Brf failed to see the co-authors in some of those 'fact finding' missions.

see:
here

GuruPrabhu wrote:here is another hint for those who are interested. It is an article by another hero of the fan club, A. Gopalakrishnan:

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/1507567/ ... uel-exists

Compare this to MVR and one gets into hero worship dissonance. But, combine the two and you will see that one of the two has to be wrong.

[this hint ought to help "fault finders" connect the dots]

or this from me: this or this posted earlier from me.

Or see this from Praful Bidwai
India must put nuclear power on hold
Where Mr. Gopalkrishnan is also being the authority who was being quoted.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 08 Apr 2013 14:31

found this in the kissinger cables...alleged smuggling of U235 from indian atomic pgm into nepal..this was around 7 months before the nuclear tests of May 18, 1974

https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/ ... 255_b.html

1973, october 10
1. EMBASSY AIRPOUCHING TODAY SMALL SAMPLE OF SUBSTANCE
REPORTED TO BE U-235 FOR TESTING BY AEC, IN ACCORDANCE
REFTEL A. SAMPLE CONTAINED IN SMALL PLASTIC VIAL AND
WRAPPED IN SEVERAL PLASTIC BAGS. POUCH NUMBER IS
B 3-3148; REGISTRY NUMBER 862906; INVOICE NUMBER A-116.

2. SAMPLE WAS OBTAINED FOLLOWING TELEPHONE CALL BY
THAKUR ON OCTOBER 7 REQUESTING MEETING WITH EMBASSY
OFFICER. AT MEETING FOLLOWING DAY THAKUR BEGAN BY SAYING
HE HAD BROUGHT SAMPLE WHICH HE THOUGHT WE MIGHT BE
INTERESTED
IN TESTING. (EMBASSY OFFICER THEREFORE DID NOT
NEED TO INITIATE REQUEST FOR SAMPLE. EMBASSY OFFICER
REPLIED THAT WE WOULD BE WILLING TO TEST SAMPLE, AND THAT
SECRET

SECRET

PAGE 02 KATHMA 04255 101306Z

WE WOULD INFORM THAKUR OF RESULTS. OFFICER STRESSED THAT
OUR WILLINGNESS TO TEST SAMPLE SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS ANY
FORM OF COMMITMENT ON OUR PART. THAKUR SAID HE UNDERSTOOD.
HE ASKED NO QUESTIONS AS TO WHY WE WERE WILLING TO TEST
SAMPLE, OR WHAT OUR COURSE OF ACTION MIGHT BE.

3. THAKUR SAID HE WOULD BE ABLE TO PROVIDE FIVE KILOS OF
ENRICHED URANIUM PER MONTH AT PRICE OF $35,000 PER KILO,
WHICH HE THOUGHT WAS A VERY FAIR PRICE. (IN EARLIER
APPROACH TO EMBASSY OFFICER, THAKUR HAD SAID HE COULD
DELIVER TWO TO THREE KILOS PER MONTH AT PRICE OF $40,000
PER KILO.) HE AGAIN REPORTED THAT THE ENRICHED URANIUM
WOULD COME FROM INDIA, AND SAID THAT HIS PARTNER WAS INDIAN.

4. SEVERAL TIMES DURING CONVERSATION THAKUR REFERRED TO
NEED FOR SECRECY, AS HE SAID THIS WAS "LIFE OR DEATH
SITUATION FOR HIM AND HIS PARTNER". HE SAID HE WAS
ATTEMPTING TO SELL ENRICHED URANIUM ONLY BECAUSE HE HAD
SUFFERED SERIOUS BUSINESS LOSSES AND WAS NOW LIVING HAND
TO MOUTH. EMBASSY OFFICER, WHO HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY MET
THAKUR, SHARES IMPRESSION REPORTED REF B (BEING REPEATED
TO DEPT) THAT THAKUR IS UNSTABLE INDIVIDUAL WHOSE FUTURE
ACTIONS CANNOT BE PREDICTED.

5. EMBASSY OFFICER SAID THAT HE HOPED TO BE ABLE
PROVIDE RESULTS OF TESTING TO THAKUR WITHIN TWO TO THREE
WEEKS. WE WOULD APPRECIATE GUIDANCE ON HOW TO HANDLE
OUR RESPONSE AT THAT TIME.
CARGO

-----------
khan bahadur seems to have then contact the highest levels of AEC and tipped them off.
and this within 2 days of that cable

Oct12, 1973

TO SCHNEIDER FROM PINAJIAN

1. DAE CHAIRMAN SETHNA TRIED CONTACT USAEC SCIREP BY PHONE
ON AT LEAST TWO OCCASIONS PRIOR MCCASKILL CALL OCTOBER 10. HE
CALLED AGAIN MONRING OCT 11 AND ENQUIRED ABOUT FORD FOUNDATION
SUPPORTED STUDY OF THE PILFERAGE OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS. USAEC
SCIREP RESPONSE ALONG LINES PREVIOUS WEEK WHEN SETHNA FIRST
ENQUIRED ABOUT STUDY. REPORT FINISHED BUT HAS NOT BE RELEASED.
AND USAEC WILL ATTEMPT OBTAIN COPY.

SECRET

SECRET

PAGE 02 NEW DE 11912 121205Z

2. SETHNA THEN INFORMED USAEC SCIREP OF MCCASKILL VISIT AND
STATED HE WAS VERY THANKFUL OF BEING INFORMED ABOUT THIS MATTER. HE
EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT NEPALI MIGHT APPROACH A MINISTER OR
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT IN NEW DELHI AND CAUSE QUOTE UNHEARD
OF PROBLEMS TO ME UNQUOTE. SETHNA TOOK INITIATIVE OFFER USE
OF PU-BE NEUTRON XOURCE FOR A QUOTE ON THE SPOT ANALYSIS OF
THE MATERIAL IN DELHI UNQUOTE. SETHNA PREFERRED FIRST TO CLEAR
FEASIBILITY OF IDEA WITH BARC DIRECTOR RAMANNA NOTED EXPORT ON
DETAILS OF ANALYSIS. HE PROMISED CONTACT USAEC SCIREP 1530
HOURS WITH OUTCOME OF THIS DICUSSIN USAEC SCI REP STATED HE WOULD
RELAY SETHNA'S OFFER TO EMBASSY.

3. SETHNA EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT USG MIGHT BE QUOTE
ASSOCIATING UNQUOTE UNAUTHORIZED SHIPMENT OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS
TO FRG WITH THE NEPALESE AFFAIR. USAEC SCI REP ASSURED HI THAT
IF THIS WAS THE CASE HE WAS NOT PRIVY TO SUCH DISCUSSIONS AND THAT
HE DOUBTED THAT THE TWO WERE DISCUSSED IN SAME CONTEXT BY US
OFFICIALS.

4. DAE CHAIRMAN CALLED 1505 HOURS AND INFORMED USAEC SCI REP
THAT PORTABLE PU-BE SOURCE NOT AVAILABLE AND RESULTS OF SUCH AN
ANALYSIS WOULD BE INCONCLUSIVE ANYWAY. SUGGESTED MASS
SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS BEST APPROACH. HE OFFERED DAE FACILITIES
FOR THIS TEST WITH EITHER USAEC SCI REP OR OTHER USG OFFICIALS
PRESENT DURING ANALYSIS.

5. USAEC SCI REP THANKED CHAIRMAN ASSURED HIM THAT INFO
WOULD BE RELAYED AND THAT HE WOULD KEEP CHAIRMAN
INFORMED.
PANOS

UNQUOTE
MOYNIHAN

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 08 Apr 2013 14:34

brazilian reaction to indian nuclear test
https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/ ... 567_b.html

INDIAN NUCLEAR TEST RECEIVED EXTENSIVE COVERAGE
IN THE BRAZILIAN PRESS. ALTHOUGH EDITORIAL COMMENT HAS BEEN
LIMITED THUS FAR, THE TONE OF PUBLISHED COMMENT IS TINGED
WITH ADMIRATION FOR "POOR BOY" MAKING GOOD. THE INDIAN TEST
WILL PROBABLY SPUR BRAZIL'S OWN NUCLEAR AMBITIONS.

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 09 Apr 2013 10:35

Shut out of BARC, U.S. scientist foresaw Indian nuclear test

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/s ... epage=true

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 09 Apr 2013 23:48

Sushupti wrote:Shut out of BARC, U.S. scientist foresaw Indian nuclear test

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/s ... epage=true

Full text for analysis;

A year before India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974, a Bombay-based scientific representative of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission was quite certain it would do so ‘in the not too distant future.’ Concurring with his assessment, a senior U.S. diplomat felt Prime Minister Indira Gandhi would take the step to offset public disenchantment with her government and the country’s growing economic troubles.

The American scientist’s suspicions grew, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable obtained by WikiLeaks, when the Indian nuclear establishment shut its doors on him, afraid that he was being used by the U.S. government to spy on them and would find out too much.

It is generally thought that the world was taken by surprise when the ‘Buddha smiled’ in Pokhran on May 18, 1974. But the cable sent by the U.S. Consul General in Bombay on April 4, 1973, was quite certain that India was on the verge of testing a nuclear device.

“As aura of Indo-Pak victory and 1970/72 electoral successes dim and as public disenchantment with PM and GoI mount reflecting increased economic distress it occurs to us in Bombay that in addition usual scapegoats, ‘demonstration’ of a nuclear device for peaceful purposes in not too distant future,” the U.S. Consul-General in Bombay wrote in the cable (1973NEWDE03743_b, secret).

The main source for the assessment was the AEC representative, John Pinajian, who had shared his ‘personal evaluation’ of India’s nuclear position with the Consul General, based on his own observations at ‘various levels in India, broad extrapolations based on technical papers presented at Indian scientific meetings as well as impression gathered from public and personal comments made by member atomic energy community.’

Dr. Pinajian told the U.S. Consul General that it was “fully within the capabilities” of India to “demonstrate its nuclear capability by exploiting peaceful application of a nuclear device” in the “near future and indications available to this end suggest that GoI may be working to this end.”

Dr. Pinajian was also of the view that the Department of Atomic Energy was laying the groundwork for the export by India of “largely ingenous [sic] atomic reactors (200 MWe).”

His impressions, Dr. Pinajian told the diplomat, were based on several things. Although he had “excellent credentials and contacts dating back to Oak Ridge” (the Tennessee city where some U.S. nuclear research facilities are located), he was being rebuffed by top scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR).

Despite an agreement with AEC India that the USAEC was making Dr. Pinajian “available as an expert,” and a suggestion by Dr. Homi Sethna, then AEC India chairman, that the scientist should ‘immediately’ go to work at BARC, Dr. Raja Ramanna, the head of BARC avoided meeting him until Dr. Sethna personally intervened to get him the appointment.

But the meeting was fruitless for the American scientist, as the BARC chief said it would be ‘impractical’ for him to work in the particular division he wanted to be in, as that would require permission from the Centre.

{So it confirms he was on an intel gathering mission in that division!}

Dr. Ramanna pushed him off to TIFR instead. There too, Dr. Pinajian tried in vain to meet the institute’s boss, Dr. M.G.K. Menon. A member of Dr. Menon’s staff, Professor B.V. Thosar, had asked for permission to work with Dr. Pinajian, but “months have passed” and neither had heard anything.

The scientist felt this was significant as both BARC and TIFR would be “principal Orgnaisations [sic] involved in any move toward development of a nuclear device.”

{He gets refused access to restricted areas in BARC and TIFR and decides India is working on a bomb! Suffers from Paredolia}

Even Dr. Sethna, the USAEC scientist’s initial supporter, seemed to have abandoned him. “Additionally Pinajian has had increasing difficulty in seeing Sethna (has not seen since Feb although has requested appointment on number of occasions),” the cable notes.

The cable says that “key men in India’s atomic energy hierarchy are apparently reluctant to allow Pinajian to become involved in any access to these institutions. In my view their reluctance derives from their concern that Pinajian is knowledgeable and could find out more than they might like that he should. They probably fear we may be using him to observe their activities in the nuclear field”.

{So their fears are fully justified now so many years later.}

Then, despite Dr. Sethna’s statement that Trombay is “wide open and we have no secrets,” Pinajian told the U.S. Consul General, his contacts with personnel working there “(and he has a number of excellent contacts who value his advice) do not bear this out. His contacts suggest that outsiders working at Trombay are not free to roam around. In fact, friendly sources are unable to tell him who is working on a project and what is being done.”

{Again he is abusing his old contacts to find out about a particular project and who is working on it! And he claims to be research scholar!!!. Name one country that allows outsiders to roam around in high security areas? What an ego and a duffer.}

Pinajian, says the cable, was satisfied from all indications available to him that the Indians are doing extensive work in the field of plutonium, recognising in addition that a “strong base for plutonium work is also necessary for utilization of plutonium in the DAE breeder reactor program.”

{Yet he claims India was working on a bomb!}

Meeting MGK is not easy even for his relatives.

pentaiah · Post by **pentaiah** » 10 Apr 2013 00:26

MGK used write great small articles in Science Today about developments in Nuclear physics, and also about fundamental particle research at TIFR and cosmic ray experiments

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 10 Apr 2013 20:33

I am sure that Iran earthquake will also give fuel to Kudankulam protesters...

Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant not affected by quake: IAEA

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 15 Apr 2013 00:11

Is this the right thread for this? where is the nuke thread?

http://flonnet.com/stories/20130419300707700.htm
wow!

KLP Dubey · Post by **KLP Dubey** » 15 Apr 2013 02:40

SaiK wrote:Is this the right thread for this? where is the nuke thread?

http://flonnet.com/stories/20130419300707700.htm
wow!

Closing down the FBR program and relying upon imported uranium to fuel conventional reactors is the last thing we should be doing.

The Indian nuclear energy program should simply "keep calm and carry on". Such "analyses" will have absolutely zero impact or effect.

Namaskar,

KL

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 15 Apr 2013 04:28

^^^ Thanks for the comments.

I think it is very important, in a democracy, for aam janata to educate itself, and scientists to give as much information as possible.

For example, we should learn from Fukushima. A recent report has made many of the mainstream newspapers.. for example,
Study: No radioactive cesium in 99% of Fukushima, Ibaraki residents

or
Fukushima internal exposures low, study finds
(Many newspapers also carry the news of this study.. with varying headlines and spins)

The original report is at:
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/pj ... 1/_article
Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series B
Vol. 89 (2013) No. 4 p. 157-163
Internal radiocesium contamination of adults and children in Fukushima 7 to 20 months after the Fukushima NPP accident as measured by extensive whole-body-counter surveys

Here are some interesting findings which people should note to see the actual effects of radiation (Mainly due to eating food) , after such an event...

Please read the article in detail, if interested, here are few points:

- Data is from 30,000+ residents in affected areas - A detailed study by scientists.
- 99% of residents of Fukushima prefecture and neighbouring Ibaraki have barely detectable levels of internal exposure ... (~300 Bq / Kg) (For perspective, A banana is about 15 Bq)
- Rest 1% were still, pretty low (much lower than average back-ground radiation) ( Equivalent dose of ~ .04 mSv)
Only 4 (out of 30,000), who ate un-screened food such as wild mushrooms, wild boar and freshwater fish) got about 1mSV (for perspective, you get about 3mSV/year just from background radiation) (There level went down, once they changed the food habits)..

Gives some real life data, for those who were predicting dire results and warnings against "contaminated food".

One should also note down WHO detail study, for overall radiation effects ( looked at a number of populations in Fukushima prefecture etc).. which concluded ..

It expects no observable health effect in the wider population...

(For perspective please see about my post (on March 2011) about scare from food imports from Japan..
http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... n#p1047245

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 15 Apr 2013 23:42

SaiK wrote:Is this the right thread for this? where is the nuke thread?

http://flonnet.com/stories/20130419300707700.htm
wow!

SaiK, Is it fair to just post a link without the title especially when its book by an NPA who wants to castigate India for having the DAE? Next time please do post the title and a short synopsis if you want a discussion.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 20 Apr 2013 09:58

As some of us pointed out earlier....
The problem is not the valves but the elastimeric seals themselves. Every time the system is pressurized it starts leaking. The most egregious ones are apparently being replaced in the hopes that problem is solved. Note that we don't even know which valves they are and the DAE is not even required to notify the locals about leaks.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/t ... 634626.ece

Four valves found “deficient” at Kudankulam being replaced: AERB

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) on Friday acknowledged that four valves were found defective during tests at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu and said they were being replaced.

In a press release, the Board also indicated that the long overdue commissioning of the plant could be further delayed as the new valves were again being put to the test. “The test results at the current stage of commissioning for various systems are seen to be within the acceptable limits. However, during testing of thousands of valves installed in the plant, the performance of four valves of a particular type was found deficient. As corrective measures, the valve components are being replaced by NPCIL [Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited] and their performance is further being subjected to regulatory review. Subsequent clearance will be granted by AERB only after a satisfactory review.”

Reacting to media reports, which raised the issue of quality of components originating from a particular Russian supplier, the AERB stressed that the system of quality checks, testing and reviews specified and enforced by it had the necessary depth to detect and correct deviations in quality. Elaborating on the system adopted to ensure quality, the press release issued by AERB Secretary R. Bhattacharya said multilevel checks were in place for ensuring conformance with the quality requirements. A nuclear power plant would be considered suitable for operation only after all components were found to be functioning properly. “In general, several thousand components are installed in a nuclear power plant and as is normal for all complex engineering systems, occasional variations in their performances during their commissioning trials are expected. The very intent of such commissioning trials is to identify non-conformance, if any, and take corrective actions,” the release said. Speaking to The Hindu over telephone, AERB Chairman S.S. Bajaj said the NPCIL had procured new valves for replacement and was testing them. He however, declined to comment on how long the testing would take place on the ground that it was still under way.

PratikDas · Post by **PratikDas** » 20 Apr 2013 11:11

So what does his royal highness think the tests are for and the information is being released to the media for? The highest standards are being displayed but you can only take the camel to water.

Prabu · Post by **Prabu** » 29 Apr 2013 15:51

An encouraging news !

India plays key role in building super machine that will offer unlimited energy

Neela · Post by **Neela** » 29 Apr 2013 16:05

Now TN wants entire KKNPP output

While Tamil Nadu will get 925 MW of power, Karnataka has been allotted 442 MW, Kerala 266 MW and Puducherry will be given 67 MW. The remaining 300 MW of power is in unallocated category.

“After discussions between the Union Power Minister and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the ministry agreed to consider providing additional 100 MW to Tamil Nadu from the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant,” Mr.Chacko said in his communication to MADITSSIA.

I know I know...there are some who know a lot more , a lot better and who have their ears to the ground and claim TN is a power surplus state. I just have one thing to say - if you have your ears to the ground, you probably don;t know what ears are for & you are probably doing whatever you are doing wrong!

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 30 Apr 2013 14:24

I thought this would already be posted.

Strike by even-a midget nuke will invite massive response Indi warns Pak

A small but a critical clarification of the NFU policy. It is not that the concpet was not known especially on BRF, but the fact that Shyam Saran goes out and makes it explicitly clear is a important poin.

arun · Post by **arun** » 30 Apr 2013 15:00

^^^ Was posted by Chaanakya in the TSP thread.

X Posting the web link to the full text of the speech of the Chairman of our National Security Advisory Board, Shyam Saran, outlining India’s nuclear weapon doctrine which I had posted as a response to his post.

Seems there is a typo on the date of the speech as the weblink advises that the speech was delivered by our Chairman of the NSAB on August 24th 2013, which is still a few months in the future:

Is India’s Nuclear Deterrent Credible?

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 02 May 2013 05:43

For those who have ears to the ground may also like to notice some items in the news..

The first unit at the Ningde nuclear power plant in China's Fujian province is now operating commercially.

Ningde 1

And according to many news items Canada is seeing some positive aspects of nuclear power..

Air quality in Canada's Ontario province has improved dramatically in recent years, simultaneously with the ramping up of nuclear power and the phase-out of coal.
The province is home to a large portion of Canadian industry, the cities of Ottawa and Toronto . Data from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment shows a dramatic reduction in air pollution - from 53 smog warning days in 2005 to just nine in 2011.

With Help from Bruce Power Nuclear, Ontario's Air Quality Continues to Improve

Nitesh · Post by **Nitesh** » 06 May 2013 10:56

from: rediff live

SC gives green signal to Kudankulam N-Plant :
The Supreme Court will has pronounced its verdict on a plea seeking stay on commissioning of the controversial Kudankulam nuclear plant and its scrapping. The SC has given its nod to the commissioning of the Kundankulam Nuclear Power plant this month. The SC says the plant has been set up for the welfare and sustainable growth of the people.

A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra, which had reserved the verdict following marathon arguments in the last three months, delivered the judgement today.

A batch of petitions was filed by anti-nuclear activists challenging the project on the ground that safety measures recommended for the plant by an expert body have not been put in place.

They also raised various questions pertaining to the disposal of nuclear waste, the plant's impact on the environment and the safety of people living nearby, besides other issues linked to the controversial plant.