Kudankulam plant can withstand Fukushima-like disaster: Centre to SC

Expressing concern over public and environmental safety of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, the Supreme Court has told the Centre that it will not allow the plant to function if the safety conditions are not met.

Two workers exposed to nuclear radiation at Kota

Two people working at a power plant operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) in Rawatbhata area of Kota district in Rajasthan may have been exposed to nuclear radiation on June 23. The two were a part of the team carrying out maintenance work at nuclear plants across the country to prevent Fukushima-like disaster in future.

A schoolgirl’s nuclear nightmare

In the gathering dusk, the open ground in Kudankulam village is filling up slowly. There is an inter-faith meeting to protest against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) that has come up just 2 km away and is all set to start operations.

Kudankulam meltdown

France sends top official to allay fears over Jaitapur nuclear power plant

Following the stiff opposition in India to the proposed 9,900 (1,650x6) MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant (JNPP), near Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, the French government is doing its utmost to allay the fears of civil society by sending its top officials to explain the safety of Areva’s Evolutionary Pressurised Reactors (EPR) which are to be to be used at Jaitapur.

Nuclear corporation to allow general public inside power plants

Strong public opposition to nuclear power plants, especially the near-complete Kudankulam plant in Tamil Nadu and the proposed one at Jaitapur in Maharashtra, seems to have forced the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to  adopt a new public relations strategy. The corporation has decided to allow people to visit nuclear power plants or any of the NPCIL establishments whenever they wish.

Supreme Court petitioned to stall proposed nuclear plants

As protests against the Koodankulam nuclear power plant under construction in Tamil Nadu grows louder, several former bureaucrats and scientists have petitioned the Supreme Court to stay all the proposed nuclear power plants till a safety reassessment is done. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), however,  maintains that Indian nuclear power plants are safe and capable of enduring natural disasters.  

India, Japan pitch for carbon credits from nuclear energy

Even after being hit by one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters, Japan is pitching for inclusion of nuclear energy as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). India and Japan opposed the option of banning nuclear power plants from earning carbon credits under CDM at the United Nations climate negotiations in Panama. The move has drawn severe criticism from several environmental non-profits. The negotiations which ended on October 7 have set the stage for United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban later this year.

Nations endorse nuclear safety plan

Amidst concerns over nuclear security in the wake of the Fukushima accident in Japan, 151 member states passed an action plan on nuclear safety at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) general conference in Vienna on September 23.

'Indian nuke power plants safe'

A high-level committee appointed to review the safety of Indian nuclear power plants says India’s plants are safe, but has suggested reliable back-up provisions to cool reactors and prevent meltdown.