India Nuclear News And Discussion

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 27 Nov 2009 21:29

For the record (FtR):

Reprocessing deal well before Aug 2010 deadline: US

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 28 Nov 2009 03:14

shiv wrote:India Neutrino Observatory meets its 72
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/370 ... giris.html

Shivji - You may already know this but INO is going to be safe. May be a small setback like a change of location.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 28 Nov 2009 09:31

After Russia, France operationalizes nuclear accord

France has become the second country after Russia to fully opertionalise the inter-country nuclear agreement with India.

The French National Assembly adopted a law authorising ratification of the Cooperation Agreement between India and France on the Development of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy signed in Paris on September 30 last year. The Senate approved the same law on October 15 this year.

“The unanimous vote by both Assemblies is an important milestone in the development of the civilian nuclear cooperation between France and India. It will enable the early entry into force of the Agreement. It now paves the way for strengthening relations between French and Indian partners and for more concrete developments in the industrial field,” said a French Embassy release here.

According to government sources here, France has agreed to reprocess the spent nuclear fuel from French reactors under safeguards.

Following an assurance given by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during their last summit meeting in Paris, France would not put hurdles to transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technologies provided it is done under the watch of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 28 Nov 2009 16:34

1998 Nuclear Test was 100% successful: Kakodkar

Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar has said India's 1998 nuclear test was a '100% success'.

"I assure (you) that the nuclear test conducted in 1998 was hundred per cent success. The yield of the test was verified using various alternative methods and it was perfect," he told reporters after inaugurating the Zirconium complex at Pazhayakal near here {Tuticorin} yesterday.

Kakodakar's remarks came in response to a question about the controversy surrounding the 1998 Pokhran nuclear test after some top nuclear scientists raised doubts about the success of the explosion.

He also expressed satisfaction over the progress made in the Indo-US nuclear agreement.

The country's second Zirconium plant here, the first being at Hyderabad, has a capacity to produce 500 tonnes of Zirconium Oxide and 250 tonnes of Zirconium Sponge per annum, which are used for manufacturing Zirconium alloy components required for nuclear power reactors.

The Rs 304 crore 'critical facility' plant had been built with a capacity to increase its production to 1000 tonnes of Zirconium Oxide. It was originally conceived to accommodate Titanium Sponge plant also, but it was shifted to Kerala.

Kakodar said only a few countries had the capacity to produce Zirconium sponge and export potential for the product was immense.

The plant has state-of-the-art material handling facility and automation at various intricate process system was the major advantage, he said.

Tamang · Post by **Tamang** » 29 Nov 2009 02:27

Radiation leak in Kaiga nuclear power plant leaves 45 staffers sick

BANGALORE/KARWAR: In a nuclear accident that is bound to raise key safety concerns ahead of India’s ambitious atomic expansion programme, about 45 employees of the Kaiga atomic power plant suffered radiation poisoning when radioactive heavy water from the plant contaminated the drinking water. Kaiga is one of India’s newer nuclear reactors.

There was no official word from the usually secretive nuclear establishment. Sources said the employees were in hospital because they experienced a mildly higher level of radiation than permissible on Friday after drinking from a water cooler near an open area in one of the reactors.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 29 Nov 2009 03:48

That is indeed very strange!!!

I would think the cooler is "attached" to a city's water supply of sorts.

This looks to me more like a sabotage.

Let us see.

nithish · Post by **nithish** » 29 Nov 2009 03:55

Canada, India forge nuclear technology deal

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made good on his promise to work more closely with India today.

Following talks on his recent visit, Harper signed a nuclear co-operation agreement with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, allowing Canadian companies to trade nuclear technology and uranium to India for the first time in 35 years.
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"This agreement is a testimony to the undeniable potential that Canada and India can offer each other and the world," Harper said. "Increased collaboration with India's civilian nuclear energy market will allow Canadian companies to benefit from greater access to one of the world's largest and fastest expanding economies."

The agreement still has to get parliamentary approval to go through, meaning Harper's minority government will require support from at least one opposition party to pass. Full details of the agreement will not be released until it is formally tabled in the House of Commons.

The deal is expected to bolster Canada's estimated $6.6 billion in annual nuclear-energy industry revenue.
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SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 29 Nov 2009 06:41

Kaiga workers 'back to work' - T.S.Subramanian

The officials blamed the incident on an “insider’s mischief” of mixing tritium in a water cooler kept in the operating island of the station’s first unit. “We have to investigate and fix responsibility for the mischief,” said an authoritative official.

The officials said their suspicion was confirmed when it was found that not only workers who worked in the radioactive areas of the first unit but also those who did not work in the radioactive zones had a high dose of tritium in their urine samples. This led to their zeroing in on the cooler where water had been mixed with tritium.

A survey of the plant area did not reveal any leak of heavy water from any of the reactor systems. Besides, the radiological conditions of the area were normal. This meant that the tritium ingested by the workers was not from the plant, the release said.

Workers carried radioactive samples in bottles from sampling points in the reactor building to chemical laboratories for analysis.

This is not 'simple mischief' as the authorities are claiming. Who would have access to heavy water except a few scientists/engineers ? Those who have access would know the seriousness of what they are doing. If one of them did this, it cannot be termed as 'mischief'; it is terrorism. If anybody else had access without oversight, that is a very serious security breach. The authorities are claiming that there are several points within the complex where radioactive material are tapped for taking them to the labs. Hope heavy water is not leaking at any of these places. Besides, who are employed to collect them and safely transport to the labs and how are these accounted for ? After lab tests, how are these material safely disposed off and accounted for ? The officials also say the water cooler was in the high security radioactive zone of the first unit. Then how come those who were not in that zone also got affected ? Did they drink the water from the same cooler ?If heavy water was not from the plant, as they also claim, then it is an even bigger issue. Then, why was this particular water cooler zeroed in out of the rest ? About six months back, an engineer went missing and was later found dead. All is not well at Kaiga.

Sanatanan · Post by **Sanatanan** » 29 Nov 2009 12:01

SSridhar wrote:Kaiga workers 'back to work' - T.S.Subramanian

This is not 'simple mischief' as the authorities are claiming. Who would have access to heavy water except a few scientists/engineers ? Those who have access would know the seriousness of what they are doing. If one of them did this, it cannot be termed as 'mischief'; it is terrorism. If anybody else had access without oversight, that is a very serious security breach. The authorities are claiming that there are several points within the complex where radioactive material are tapped for taking them to the labs. Hope heavy water is not leaking at any of these places. Besides, who are employed to collect them and safely transport to the labs and how are these accounted for ? After lab tests, how are these material safely disposed off and accounted for ? The officials also say the water cooler was in the high security radioactive zone of the first unit. Then how come those who were not in that zone also got affected ? Did they drink the water from the same cooler ?If heavy water was not from the plant, as they also claim, then it is an even bigger issue. Then, why was this particular water cooler zeroed in out of the rest ? About six months back, an engineer went missing and was later found dead. All is not well at Kaiga.

Almost identical incident seems to have taken place in Canada at Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station (a CANDU reactor) in 1990. (Reference)

Poisoning Incident
In 1990, assistant plant operator Daniel George Maston [4] at the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station took a sample of heavy water from the moderator system and loaded it into a "sport mix" drink dispenser in an industrial lunch zone. It was not loaded in a water cooler in an office. Eight employees drank some of the contaminated water. One individual who was engaged in heat stress work, requiring alternating work, rest, and rehydration periods consumed significantly more than the others. The incident was discovered when employees began leaving bioassay urine samples with elevated tritium levels, one with particularly and unusually high levels. The quantities involved were well below levels which could induce heavy water toxicity, but several employees received elevated radiation doses from tritium and activated chemicals in the water. It is believed that Maston intended the exposure to be a practical joke, whereby the affected employees would be required to give urine samples daily for an extended length of time.

It seems signing nuclear deals, also implies importing, in toto, foreign made "mischief" events

arun · Post by **arun** » 29 Nov 2009 12:04

Reuters take on the Indo Canadian Nuclear deal. The headline is a bit misleading though. Apparently while agreement has been reached the paperwork is yet to be concluded:

Canada, India reach nuclear cooperation pact

Sat Nov 28, 2009 5:35pm EST

TORONTO, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Canada and India agreed on Saturday to cooperate on nuclear issues, with a pact that ends a freeze in cooperation dating from 1974 and could offer new opportunities for Canadian uranium firms.

"Increased collaboration with India's civilian nuclear energy market will allow Canadian companies to benefit from greater access to one of the world's largest and fastest expanding economies," Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement, announcing the conclusion of negotiations on a nuclear cooperation agreement.

"Canada and India will now take the necessary steps to prepare the agreement for final signature and implementation," said the statement, released after talks between Harper and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago. ........................

Reuters

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 29 Nov 2009 13:03

L&T ties up with NPCIL to make forgings for nuclear plants

Larsen and Toubro is all set to ink a joint venture agreement with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India for setting up a Rs 2,000-crore project to make forgings for nuclear power plants.

The manufacturing facility is expected to come up at Hazira, Gujarat, to produce special steels and ultra heavy forgings. Though L&T's Hazira facilities are equipped to produce forgings for the hydrocarbon and power sector, the standards and specification for nuclear forgings are altogether different and required an upgrade of the present facilities to accommodate larger dimensions of design, said a senior official. The present generation nuclear power plants require nearly 200 forgings of various sizes, tonnage and specifications.

Reactor vessel components, turbine rotors and steam generators are made from over 4,000 tonnes of steel forgings.

For fabrication of the nuclear reactor vessel head alone, seven forgings weighing 500 tonnes are said to be needed.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 29 Nov 2009 13:12

Kakodkar gives more details on the Kaiga contamination

In a case of sabotage, Atomic Energy Commission chief Anil Kakodkar today said somebody "deliberately" put radioactive tritium in a water cooler at the Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant that exposed about 50 workers to increased level of radiation.

People involved will be punished under the Atomic Energy and other acts after investigation, he said.

"Somebody deliberately put the tritiated water vials into a drinking water cooler. Therefore, we are investigating who is behind the malevolent act," he told PTI in Mumbai.

Kakodkar said, "The investigations are being carried out from two angles. First to ascertain as to who contaminated the water cooler with tritiated heavy water, and the second from radiation protection angle.

Kakodkar said normally, it is a practice to test small amounts of tritiated heavy water for chemical parameters from different locations of the reactors.

The AEC Chairman said the heavy water in all the pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) routinely goes for assessment of chemical parameters and during that process small samples are taken from different locations of the reactor to carry out analysis.

"It is a regular practice and while doing that the tritiated heavy water is carried in small vials to chemical labs within the premises to carry out analysis, and all these vials are sent back to the reactor when the analysis is over", he said.

Kakodkar also said, "We also check all the radiation workers with termoluminiscent dosimetry (TMD). So, we know the inventory and in the process of monitoring the dosimetry we found that some workers had tritiated water content in their body.

Nayak · Post by **Nayak** » 29 Nov 2009 13:28

Radiation exposure at Karnataka N-plant was deliberate: Kakodkar

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 281178.cms

But later on, the investigators found that through the drainage--the overflow line of the cooler, it seems some mischief monger inserted some tritiated water and contaminated the whole cooler. And people have consumed that (water)," he said, noting that "everything is normal. There is nothing serious."

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 29 Nov 2009 17:27

Rediff

India, Canada clinch civil nuclear deal

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [ Images ] announced late on Saturday night that they had reached an agreement on the civilian nuclear agreement, after a year of negotiations.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 29 Nov 2009 18:27

Reprocessing Deal with the US: Only legal text needs to be finalized

“We have arrived into the last stage of negotations... only one issue remains, that of finalising the legal text,” National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan told journalists accompanying the Prime Minister on his return home from a two-nation tour of the U.S. and Trinidad and Tobago.

The negotiations are almost complete and one more round of discussions will be required to clinch the agreement, possibly in 10-12 days, sources said.

They said the two sides have resolved two of the key issues that were holding up the conclusion of the agreement.

These were questions like whether one or more dedicated facility should be set up and what should be the type of security for these installations.

India has been wanting to set up multiple facilities arguing that it would be beneficial for the US as the work of reprocessing would increase after the US started setting up nuclear plants in India.

It has been agreed that one dedicated facility would be set up initially with a provision for more in case the need arose, the sources said.

With regard to security, it has been agreed that the protective mechanism would be on the lines of what exists in the US, the sources said.

The third sticking point was whether reprocessing should be suspended any time and in what circumstances and conditions.

Sources said the two sides are working on a mutually acceptable legal text.

On whether the dedicated reprocessing facility will be used to reprocess only American fuel, the sources said the commitment is only for US fuel. There has been no issue about reprocessing fuel of other countries and there has been no request in that regard from any other country.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 29 Nov 2009 19:46

union minister has now confirmed it was deliberate sabotage.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 29 Nov 2009 20:45

10 Under Scanner for Kaiga Incident

Investigators have revealed that an 'insider' is involved in the contamination of drinking water at the Kaiga nuclear plant in Karwar, Karnataka, and that they were questioning 10 people from the set-up in this regard.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 29 Nov 2009 20:55

Sabotage? Or a "practical" joke or prank?

Hope not the prior.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 29 Nov 2009 22:56

Given the seriousness of the incident, I doubt that "prank" / "Practical Joke" would be a valid defense at all.
The people involved are headed for criminal charges, moreover the angle of an attempt to pilfer tech out of the plant also needs to be looked into.

shravan · Post by **shravan** » 30 Nov 2009 19:44

Kaiga: Top N-official hints at foreign hand

Nuclear Power Corporation of India chairman and managing director S.K. Jain on Monday hinted that a foreign hand could be behind the case of radiation poisoning at the Kaiga nuclear plant.

"Some countries are envious of India's nuclear status. They want to show Indian nuclear installations in bad light," Jain told Headlines Today in an exclusive interview.

According to Jain, employees of the plant present in the area during the incident were being grilled by intelligence sleuths. But the CCTV near the contaminated water cooler was non-recordable.

Jain denied any theft of tritium from Kaiga, saying that the security systems were exhaustive.

Jain's reaction came amid Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan's statement that the leak seemed to be the work of an insider.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 30 Nov 2009 20:12

THis is unforgivable.Tampering with safety at an Indian nuclear plant.If a Paki hand is found,then the lakshman rekha has ben crossed.It should be open season for covert and overt operations against Pak against ANY tagret of our choosing.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 30 Nov 2009 20:26

shravan wrote:Kaiga: Top N-official hints at foreign hand
Nuclear Power Corporation of India chairman and managing director S.K. Jain on Monday hinted that a foreign hand could be behind the case of radiation poisoning at the Kaiga nuclear plant.

"Some countries are envious of India's nuclear status. They want to show Indian nuclear installations in bad light," Jain told Headlines Today in an exclusive interview.

According to Jain, employees of the plant present in the area during the incident were being grilled by intelligence sleuths. But the CCTV near the contaminated water cooler was non-recordable.

Jain denied any theft of tritium from Kaiga, saying that the security systems were exhaustive.

Jain's reaction came amid Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan's statement that the leak seemed to be the work of an insider.

Something does not add up, let us see.

For one, for him to make that statement they should have caught one or more people who committed this act and then should have come up with some association between these people and a foreign country (if at all I was hoping it would be China).

Also, the two systems should be closed - there just cannot be any physical connectivity between the nuclear system and the water cooler - just cannot. It has to be a manual act to contaminate the cooler. Which means that someone had to "steal" the tritium - a "theft". Granted it did not leave the premises.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 30 Nov 2009 20:30

Kaiga Unit-I to restart

The Kaiga atomic power station (KGS) Unit I, which was shut down for annual maintenance, would be restarted in a couple of days . . .

"There is no external contamination of any worker and within 24 hours, 90 per cent of the workers resumed their duties in the non-radiation area of the plant," he said.

I do not know if it was annual maintenance, as claimed, or shutdown as a precaution after the incident came to light.

"We will increase number of cameras and install recordable ones," Mr. Jain said.

The area where the water cooler was located had only a surveillance camera, he added.

negi · Post by **negi** » 30 Nov 2009 21:00

But the CCTV near the contaminated water cooler was non-recordable.

Ok what are the odds that this will be addressed say in a week/month or even a year ?

I have been reading and hearing about threat to our nuclear installations for quite some time now ; stuff mentioned above should have been taken care off when intelligence had first warned about such threats there is simply no excuse for not having the CCTV feeds recorded, specially when its been a year since 26/11 attacks.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 30 Nov 2009 21:26

You really need to check the people who handled tritium but are not themselves contaminated.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 01 Dec 2009 02:20

Srikumar Banerjee takes over as AEC chairman

CHENNAI: Srikumar Banerjee took over as Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), on Monday from Anil Kakodkar.
...
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Mr. Kakodkar was among the chosen few involved in India’s nuclear tests in 1974 and 1998.

He played a key role in the design and construction of the Dhruva reactor at Trombay, an original concept that has made this reactor one of the most powerful systems of its type.

He also made important contributions to the design and development of the indigenous Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR), which powers submarine Arihant.
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Dr. Banerjee was till now Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Trombay.
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An expert in materials science and technology, he has made outstanding contributions in materials-related areas, both basic and application-oriented.

His comprehensive work on the physical metallurgy of zirconium alloys is widely quoted in scientific literature.

His work provided a basis for developing a novel fabrication schedule for the pressure tubes in the indigenous PHWRs.
...
...

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 01 Dec 2009 02:28

Kaiga poisoning: Thousands had access to radioactive chemical

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There were 1,689 permanent employees and around 5,000 contract workers, all with access to the area where the Tritium had been stored as well as to the dispenser, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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A union official said: "Atomic power plants unlike thermal plants are of vital nature. Outsourcing should be restricted to non-core activities."

There is talk that NPCIL's newly introduced performance-linked incentive scheme could have caused some heartburn among workers.

But Kaiga Station Director J.P. Gupta ruled out such issues at the plant.
...

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 01 Dec 2009 03:38

Singh’s nuke gamble II - PM leads effort to get India a place in nuclear club - K.P. NAYAR

New Delhi, Nov. 30: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s talks in Port of Spain last week may eventually lead to an initiative to amend the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) to include India, along with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, as a nuclear weapons state.

The Prime Minister is understood to have broached the idea of India’s de jure recognition as a nuclear weapons state with two of the five legal nuclear weapons states. The five such states are China, France, Russia, the UK and the US.
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The decision to vote along with the five nuclear powers to censure Iran was taken at the personal intervention of the Prime Minister.
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But Barack Obama is expected to face stiff opposition to an amendment to the NPT — even if he were to support it — from America’s non-proliferation lobby. Besides, adding one more nuclear weapons state to a treaty that was supposed to curb proliferation may not sit well with Obama’s ambitious plan to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

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Proliferation has been a bee in the Canadian bonnet for decades, but Canada’s decision to finally move ahead with a nuclear deal with India was yet another reminder that a sound economy and business trumps everything else when New Delhi is seeking its rightful place on security issues.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 01 Dec 2009 03:49

KS Garu first came up with this idea to amend the NPT in 1992 as way to square the circle. However the objection was what about TSP and Israel?

Lets see how this turns out.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 01 Dec 2009 04:36

ramana wrote:KS Garu first came up with this idea to amend the NPT in 1992 as way to square the circle. However the objection was what about TSP and Israel?

Lets see how this turns out.

They can delay but cant avoid. Civilized world cannot face upcoming global challenges without India, weather security , climatic or economic . This will be huge urgency among current big dogs for Indian blessings after 2020. We can wait , time on the side of Indiskas. We should not push , just give small hint. In the meantime accumulate as much Yellow metals of both kinds as possible.

tejas · Post by **tejas** » 01 Dec 2009 06:24

Does PRC count as being civilized? I think not. However how can that hurdle be overcome? I did not know till now but anyone of the 5 countries with the divine right to nukes can veto any change to the NPT.

Rather than hoping for acceptance into a rogues gallery, India should concentrate on building comprehensive national power to the point where de jure or de facto status under the NPT is one and the same.

negi · Post by **negi** » 01 Dec 2009 06:49

Overflow pipe used in contamination

KAIGA: The overflow pipe was used to contaminate the water in a locked cooler at the Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant, a top official said on Monday.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 01 Dec 2009 07:21

negi wrote:Ok what are the odds that this will be addressed say in a week/month or even a year ?
I have been reading and hearing about threat to our nuclear installations for quite some time now ; stuff mentioned above should have been taken care off when intelligence had first warned about such threats there is simply no excuse for not having the CCTV feeds recorded, specially when its been a year since 26/11 attacks.

Negi, I agree with you. What I have seen in India is that there is minimal security consciousness even in places like a nuclear installation. Secondly, officials cut corners (like installing CCTVs that do not record) to cutdown expenditure without thinking about consequences.

What is also thoroughly baffling is how could so many have access ? ". . . 1,689 permanent employees and around 5,000 contract workers, all with access to the area where the Tritium had been stored as well as to the dispenser, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 01 Dec 2009 07:29

Apparently, Bangladeshi workers are being employed at Kaiga

Asked if Bangladeshi workers hired by local contractors had a role, J. Mitra, NPCIL officer, said no such worker was allowed near the high security zone. But Mr. Gupta said some workers were engaged on a contract basis and the security personnel in the plant kept vigil on them and did not allow them to go near sensitive equipment.

putnanja · Post by **putnanja** » 01 Dec 2009 07:32

SSridhar wrote: What is also thoroughly baffling is how could so many have access ? ". . . 1,689 permanent employees and around 5,000 contract workers, all with access to the area where the Tritium had been stored as well as to the dispenser, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Same thing crossed my mind. Don't they have secure areas with limited access? How hard can it be to have smart card based access to secure areas and have 24 hrs CCTV monitoring and storing the tapes for say 3-5 days at a time? THat is the minimum expected of a nuclear installation!! So, could anyone even steal tritium if they wanted to ?

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 01 Dec 2009 07:33

RaviBg wrote:Singh’s nuke gamble II - PM leads effort to get India a place in nuclear club - K.P. NAYAR

This is really funny:

The amendment to give India its rightful place in the global security framework does not even require changing a word, but merely two digits.

Article IX (3) of the NPT currently reads: “For the purposes of this Treaty, a nuclear-weapon State is one which has manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January 1967.”

If the last two digits of this sentence are changed from 67 to 75, history would have been revisited and India would become a legally recognised nuclear weapons state.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 01 Dec 2009 07:35

RaviBg wrote:
SSridhar wrote: What is also thoroughly baffling is how could so many have access ? ". . . 1,689 permanent employees and around 5,000 contract workers, all with access to the area where the Tritium had been stored as well as to the dispenser, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Same thing crossed my mind. Don't they have secure areas with limited access? How hard can it be to have smart card based access to secure areas and have 24 hrs CCTV monitoring and storing the tapes for say 3-5 days at a time? THat is the minimum expected of a nuclear installation!! So, could anyone even steal tritium if they wanted to ?

A true circus. And, they expect the rest of us to take them seriously on top of that.

Note the various entities falling over each other trying to get their 15 minutes of fame.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 01 Dec 2009 07:56

The continuing saga of the Indian Neutrino Observatory

The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project will not have any harmful effect on environment and misplaced apprehensions manifested in public domain need to be cast aside, said G. Rajasekaran, Advisor, India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) and Adjunct Professor, Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai.

“Let there be no apprehensions; no clearance of forests, no roads will be laid. A cavern will be dug in the mountain where a gigantic magnetised detector weighing 50,000 tonnes will be used to detect and study the neutrinos.” {How will it reach there ? Airlifted ?}

Prof. Rajasekaran said, “Tomography of the earth can ultimately be done by neutrino beams since neutrino penetration is of greater capacity and this neutrino technology could probably replace seismology in the future.”

Tamil Nadu government and its people should welcome this Rs.1,000-crore mega science project, which would enhance India’s role as an important player in frontline science and benefit generations of students and young scientists and engineers by training them through this major scientific experiment.

A national team of scientists from INO had found that the mountains in Tamil Nadu were appropriate for the project. It had been approved for funding by the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology and also included by the Planning Commission as a mega science project under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 01 Dec 2009 09:06

Kudankulam Project delayed by another year

The date of commencement of commercial operations of the first unit of the Koodankulam nuclear power project in southern Tamil Nadu has been put off by nearly one year.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) expects the first of the two units to go on stream by September 2010. According to the original plan, the unit was to begin producing electricity in December 2007.

A senior official of NPCIL today told Business Line that even September 2010 “is a tough target”.

The Russians, who are building the plants, have been blamed in quarters for the delay in the 2,000-MW power project going on stream.

Sources at the construction site said that some material is yet to be delivered by the Russians.

Highly placed sources in NPCIL confirmed this and said that the matter “is being dealt with at the highest level.”

Ironically, the entire fuel for the two reactors, enough to run them for five years, has arrived on Indian soil, sources said.

Sources from the Russian side disagree that they are responsible for the delay. They say that 99 per cent of the material has been delivered.

The Web site of NPCIL notes that 93.9 per cent of the work on the first unit has been completed.

Since the Web site said the same even six months ago, it implies that no significant work has happened in the last several months.{Ahh. . . many Indian sites are normally not up-to-date}

Sanatanan · Post by **Sanatanan** » 01 Dec 2009 13:10

I think this article from DNA (November 27, 2009) has not been posted before:

A deal gone sour
Brahma Chellaney

. . .

The nuclear deal itself is turning sour. It will take a decade or so before the first imported nuclear-power reactor begins to generate electricity. The economics of generating power from imported reactors hasn't even been discussed. Costs are likely to be so high as to saddle Indian taxpayers with a major subsidy burden. Two nuclear-power plants currently under construction in Finland and France are billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.

Despite a strong US push to bag major reactor contracts and New Delhi's action in reserving two nuclear parks exclusively for American firms, no reprocessing agreement could be clinched during Singh's visit. Key differences remain over such an agreement, which would have to pass US congressional muster. Singh went to Washington after getting his Cabinet to approve a nuclear-accident liability bill, which seeks to cap liability at a mere $537 million (Rs2,500 crore) and makes the Indian state-run operator, rather than the foreign supplier, liable for compensation payment. Parliament must seize the opportunity when this bill is tabled to examine in full the nuclear deal, which thus far has escaped legislative scrutiny in India. The bill -- intended to provide cover mainly to US firms, which, unlike France's Areva and Russia's Atomstroyexport, are in the private sector -- seeks to further burden Indian taxpayers, rather than put the onus on the sellers of multibillion-dollar reactors.

. . .