What about nuclear transparency?

Activists say safety audits should be put in public domain

Published on:

28 Apr 2011, 1:19 pm

A group of over 25 scientists, bureaucrats and activists released a statement on April 19, demanding transparency in India’s nuclear power programme. The statement was released a day after a clash between policemen and those protesting the proposed nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Maharashtra. One person was killed and eight were injured in the clash at Jaitapur.

In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown in Japan, fear of a similar disaster had made agitators more determined to fight the 9,900 MW project.

Referring to the nuclear crisis in Japan, the group said a stark rationale has emerged for abandoning nuclear energy. They indicated little faith in the government’s infrastructure for ensuring public safety. Critics say nuclear oversight in India does not follow the ideal model where the regulator is an independent body.

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	The government on April 26 announced it will set up an independent nuclear regulatory authority. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board will be subsumed by it, said environment minister Jairam Ramesh. The government has also accepted the International Atomic Energy Agency’s safety review project called OSART. It will also make public initial results of the six safety review committees constituted after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, besides the action taken reports of the previous safety reviews. Jaitapur nuclear plant will be implemented in phases. Two 1,650 MW reactors will be set up by 2019. Only after the reactors are operational will a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment be done. Each reactor in Jaitapur will have its own individual safety system. All reactors and technology will meet safety standards stipulated by the regulatory authorities.