AFP/New Delhi
A team from the UN’s nuclear watchdog began a safety inspection yesterday at a power plant in northern India where dozens of workers were exposed to radiation in separate leaks earlier this year. The inspectors were touring the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station to “review the programmes and activities essential to plant operation based on the IAEA safety standards and on proven good practices”, said a statement by the watchdog. The 12-member team from the International Atomic Energy Agency was in India at the request of the government. The IAEA said it was the first time that New Delhi had issued such an invitation to the Vienna-based body. The inspection, which will last until November 15, will examine working practices and safety procedures as well as the condition of equipment. The visit came just over three months after managers at the plant revealed that more than 40 workers had been exposed to tritium radiation in two separate leaks over the summer. The first accident occurred on June 23 when 38 people were exposed during maintenance work on a coolant channel at the plant in the town of Rawatbhata in Rajasthan state, senior plant manager Vinod Kumar told AFP. Two of them received radiation doses equivalent to the annual permissible limit, he said, but all those involved have since returned to work. In a second incident in July, another four maintenance workers at the plant were exposed to tritium radiation while they were repairing a faulty seal on a pipe. India is engaged in a drive for nuclear power, with a host of plants based on Russian, Japanese, American and French technology under consideration or construction. The country’s growing economy is currently heavily dependent on coal, getting less than 3% of its energy from its existing atomic plants, and the government hopes to raise the figure to 25% by 2050. But environmental watchdogs have expressed concerns about safety in India, where small-scale industrial accidents due to negligence or poor maintenance are commonplace and regulatory bodies are often understaffed and underfunded.
Hundreds of anti-nuclear protesters arrestedHundreds of demonstrators were detained in southern India yesterday as they tried to blockade a regional assembly in protest against a nuclear plant under construction, news reports and officials said in New Delhi. Safety concerns have prompted local villagers and fishermen to stage protests over the last year against the Kudankulam power plant, which is being built with Russian assistance. The campaign gained momentum after the Japanese nuclear plant at Fukushima began leaking radiation after it was hit by an earthquake and tsunami last year. Kudankulam is located on the coast of the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Around 2,000 people including many members of regional political parties were stopped by police 5km from the state assembly in state capital Chennai, broadcaster NDTV reported. Hundreds had been taken into custody to prevent the protest from turning violent, local police officials told DPA, refusing to give a precise number. Many officers were deployed in the area. The plant was originally to come on line in December but the date has been delayed by the protests. The Department of Atomic Energy says the plant meets all international safety guidelines and the state authorities have appealed for an end to the protests.