INDIA's nuclear power dream on theproposed Kudangularn project is floating again in the corridors of the NuclearPower Corporation, as was recently disclosed by R Chidambaram, chairperson,Atomic Energy Commission, in thefounder's day address at the BhabhaAtomic Research Centre, Bombay, thatnegotiations with the Russian government to set up two sectors of 1,000 mweach at Kudangulam, had progressedwell.
Interestingly, while Chidambaramwas giving wings to Indian nuclearpower dreams in October last week,European countries were pleading withBulgaria to shut down the oldest of itsnuclear reactors on the Danube.
In return for this shut-down, theEuropean Community offered Bulgariathree months supply of free coal or electricity, plus further safety checks at its reactor.
Although the peaceful application ofnuclear energy is no more peaceful indeveloped nations, resurfacing of theproject at Kudangulam near Nagarcoilin Thirunelvely district of southernTamil Nadu, bordering Kerala, manifests that our leaders and nuclear scientists are still myopic. The Kudangulamproject was proposed in 1987 as the firstnuclear power plant to be obtainedfrom the former Soviet Union, based onthe VVER-440 Light Water Reactor technology which had been cold-storagedfor various reasons. The constructionwas planned jointly by Kerala and TamilNadu - prime beneficiaries of the project.
However, when it was first proposed, the Kudangulam project receivedflak because of its proximity to the environmentally sensitive Western Ghatsregion. As its location is planned on thesouthern tip of the Indian subcontinent,there were fears of its possible adverseimpacts on thousands of fisherpeople inthe coastal area of Kanniyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. Considering thefact that the region lay in the path of thesouthwest monsoon, a nuclear powerplant at Kudangulam was seen as adestabilising factor.
But the real reason behind the freezing of Kudangulam project was notenvironmental hazards or safety concerns. "It was economic concerns,"observes R V G Menon, a renownedexpert on nuclear issues and principal ofEngineering College, Kannur. Rightly,mid-70s onwards, many developednations have realised that nuclear poweris no longer economically viable. Thenuclear power industry suffered heavysetbacks due to this reality. But still, theypin their hopes on the Third Worldcountries. The revival of Kudangulamproject is clearly an indication of this.Menon questions if there has been anychanges in favour of the economic viability and safety measures of setting up anuclear power plant like Kudangulam.Whether Indian experts can distinguisha dream from doom is of prime importance.
The Kudangulam project is proposed to be an answer to the acutepower shortage of the southern states -Tamil Nadu and Kerala. But this currently proposed VVER Russian technology for the project has displayedserious problems in eastern Europe,according to Surendra Gadekkar,nuclear scientist and editor ofAnumukthi. "As the proposed technology itself is unsafe, how can our nuclearpower authorities confidently go aheadwith this project?" he asks. Also, as theproject is importing an exotic technology, he observed that technicians fromother Indian nuclear power plants -most of which are CANDU-type reactors- would not be competent to operatethe Kudangulam plant. Apart formthis, he added that as a location inthe southern portion of the subcontinent, "the power from Kudangulamproject will have heavy transmissionlosses".