People's Democracy(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) |
Vol. XXXVI
No. 37 September 16, 2012 |
No Imported Nuclear Plants, No Compromise Safety
Prakash Karat
THE setting up of
mega nuclear power
plants by importing reactors, is running into serious
opposition all over the
country. The UPA government had announced that it will
install 40,000 MW of
nuclear power by 2020 and this would require importing
nuclear reactors on a
large scale. This was done to justify the Indo-US nuclear
deal. At that time,
the Manmohan Singh government gave a commitment in writing
to the US government
that it would buy American nuclear reactors of 10,000 MW
capacity. This was a
“sweetener” to get the deal.
The UPA government
has planned for
setting up nuclear parks in Jaitapur (Maharashtra), Chhaya
Mithi Virdi in
Bhavnagar (Gujarat), Kovvada in Srikakulam district (Andhra
Pradesh) and
Kudankulam (Tamilnadu). These nuclear parks with multiple
imported plants being
set up at the same site should be opposed – on
techno-economic and safety
considerations. After the nuclear deal the first agreement
was signed with the
French company, Areva to build two 1650 MW reactors at
Jaitapur. The plan is to
eventually set up six reactors. These types of reactors –
European Pressurised
Reactors (EPR) are more expensive than other imported
reactors. They have not
yet been commissioned in France or elsewhere in the world.
The government has
not divulged the actual cost of the reactors. But on the
basis of the cost
incurred for the EPR reactor in Finland, it is estimated
that six French
nuclear reactors will cost over Rs 2 lakh crore. This
untested technology
bought at astronomical prices will mean that the cost of
electricity purchased
will not be less than Rs 20 crore per MW, whereas the
indigenous Pressurized
Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) cost is Rs 8 to 9 crore per MW.
This means
electricity produced here would cost Rs 7-8 per unit.
The mega nuclear
parks planned to be
set up in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh with US reactors would
also be costly. The
whole idea of importing nuclear reactors on such a large
scale is unviable and
is part of a flawed plan for energy security.
The CPI(M) is
totally opposed to the
import of nuclear reactors for power generation as they
would be costly and
unsustainable. When India has indigenously produced the
PHWR, it is totally
unnecessary to go in for the Light Water Reactors or the
French EPR.
Further, in all
the sites selected
for the mega nuclear parks there are serious issues of
displacement of people
from their lands and their livelihood. After the Fukushima
nuclear accident in
Japan in March 2011, the question of the safety of nuclear
power plants has
come to the fore. It
has become clear
that setting up of six reactors at a single site as in
Fukushima is fraught
with serious risks and hazards.
The CPI(M) is
opposed to the proposed
nuclear parks being set up with multiple imported nuclear
reactors. In this
context, questions are being asked about the Party’s stand
with regard to the
Kudankulam nuclear power plant. Why is it that the Party has
not supported the
demand for shutting down the two nuclear reactors bought
from Russia being
commissioned there? These two reactors which have been
installed in Kudankulam
fall in a different category. These reactors were purchased
from Russia much
before the Indo-US nuclear deal. Construction to set up the
two reactors has
already been completed at an overall cost of Rs 15,000
crore. It will not be
practical nor in the country’s interests to shut down these
two units.
This stand of the
CPI(M) is criticised
by some as adopting a different position to that taken
regarding the Jaitapur
and other nuclear parks. This criticism has come mainly from
those who do not
want civilian nuclear power and nuclear power plants in
India.
The main reason
for the agitation by
the local people against the plant has been the fears for
their safety. This
became pronounced after the Fukushima disaster. There are
genuine apprehensions
among the people regarding the safety of a nuclear plant in
their area and
their concerns should be taken seriously. The CPI(M) had
stated last year when
the agitation began that till all the safety measures are
put in place and the
apprehensions of the people allayed, the plant should not be
commissioned. The
Party wanted an independent safety review to be undertaken.
However, the
government and the Department of Atomic Energy did not do
so. They have not
clarified if all the safety measures recommended by the
Atomic Energy
Regulatory Board have been put in place. Nor has it made
public the Safety Analysis
Report.
The CPI(M) is
still of the opinion
that till credible safety measures are introduced and the
safety audit report
made public, the people’s concerns cannot be met. Instead of
doing so, the central
and state governments have unleashed police repression on
the people protesting
against the commissioning of the plant. The CPI(M) condemns
the repression
against the protesters and the filing of cases of sedition
against a large
number of them.
While the CPI(M)
does not call for
the shutting down of the two reactors, the Party is opposed
to new units being
added at Kudankulam. The government is planning to put in
four more reactors
there. The argument against the setting up of nuclear parks
elsewhere applies
to Kudankulam too.
The issue of
adequate compensation
for the people affected in the event of a nuclear accident
is also a vital
issue. Parliament adopted a civil nuclear liability law
rejecting the UPA
government’s efforts to exempt the foreign suppliers from
liability. Rules are
to be framed under this Act. The government is trying to
dilute even the limited
liability provisions in the Act.
Foreign suppliers
of reactors do not
want the liability law to be applied to them. This is one
more reason not to
import foreign reactors, since in the agreements signed with
the foreign
companies the issue of compensation to be paid by them is
sought to be
nullified. In the case of the new additional reactors in
Kudankulam, the
Russian company is not willing to accept the liability
clause. Hence, this is
an additional reason not to have more Russian reactors in
Kudankulam.
The CPI(M) is not
opposed to nuclear
power per se, subject to safety requirements being met and
if the techno-economics
of nuclear power is favourable. India has developed
indigenous nuclear
technology. There is no need to import nuclear reactors.
However, given the
international experience with nuclear power and especially
the Fukushima
accident, it is important to ensure the safety of nuclear
plants, review the
safety measures in the existing nuclear plants. There are
genuine concerns
about the safety standards in the existing nuclear
installations. There are
serious concerns about the Tarapur nuclear plant which was
set up with two General
Electric reactors supplied by the US in the 1960s. These
reactors are even older
than the G E reactors in Fukushima, and are known to share
the problems faced
in the Fukushima reactors. We believe that after Fukushima,
these reactors
should be shut down.
There has to be an
independent safety
audit of the existing nuclear plants. The prime minister had
ordered a safety
audit of the nuclear plants after the Fukushima disaster.
But this was done by
the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and not by an independent
body. There has to
be an independent and autonomous nuclear safety and
regulatory agency. The
government has brought a Bill in parliament for this which
does not however
serve the purpose.
Till a
full-fledged review is done of
the safety measures in the existing plants, no new nuclear
plants should be
set-up. There has to be more rigorous environmental
standards and safety
measures put in place.
We cannot accept
the government’s
energy plan which involves a big thrust for nuclear power.
India’s growing
energy requirements will need continuing emphasis on
utilising its massive coal
reserves, more reliance on natural gas and the development
of new sources like
solar energy.
The prime
minister’s delusion of a
“nuclear renaissance” and the government’s plan to dot the
country with
imported mega nuclear parks must be resolutely opposed. The
various movements
of the people developing against the imported nuclear plants
should be made
into a national movement.