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Singh's New Stance on Nuclear Proliferation Treaty | Newsweek International | Newsweek.com
It was a bombshell by any measure. Since it was signed 40 years ago, Indian leaders have been firmly against joining the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), an agreement that prohibits nonnuclear states from acquiring such weapons, commits nuclear-weapons states to disarmament, and regulates the peaceful use of nuclear energy to prevent the weaponization of nuclear technology. But in a move that will have significant implications for India as a rising power, and for global diplomacy, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reversed course publicly on Nov. 29, saying that India is willing to join the NPT as a nuclear-weapons state.
Whether India follows through remains an open question, but pursuing NPT status would confer enormous benefits to the country
Kaiga: Question mark over nuclear safety: Rediff.com India News
To investigate the Kaiga episode, we need an independent committee, composed of external experts, radiation biologists, safety specialists and representatives of workers. We cannot afford to be cavalier about nuclear safety, writes Praful Bidwai.
The poisoning of more than 90 workers with radioactive tritium at the Kaiga nuclear power station is a serious safety violation, which calls for a critical look at India's nuclear power programme. The way the episode came to light, and the manner in which the authorities, from plant managers to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, to top officials of the Department of Atomic Energy, responded to it is a disturbing tale in itself.
The tritium ingestion was noticed on November 24 only after its effects had become manifest in abnormal levels of the isotope found in the urine of 92 plant workers, of the 800 tested. The plant managers admitted to the incident only after it caused public concern and the media reported it. Although they called this a "malevolent act", they didn't report it to the police for a week. The police aren't convinced this was the first occurrence of its kind at Kaiga.
Centre confirms poisoning at Kaiga
The Centre on Thursday said an insider might have deliberately added some heavy water containing tritium into the water cooler at the Kaiga Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Karnataka.
Making a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Prithviraj Chavan, said an interim report of the National Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) into the causes of radioactive contamination has indicated that heavy water containing tritium was “deliberately added to the drinking water cooler with a mala fide intent”.
However, he said there was no security breach or damage to the power plant and “all the systems are operating safely”. The Centre was reviewing processes and procedures at all nuclear power stations following the incident, the minister said.
Risk unlikely to be great unless exposure was very high - Times Online
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, which has one proton and two neutrons, where a normal atom of the element would have one proton and no neutrons. It is produced naturally when hydrogen is bombarded by cosmic rays, and is also a by-product of reactions that drive nuclear power plants.
Tritium atoms almost invariably bind to oxygen atoms, to create tritiated water. The isotope is a weak source of radiation, emitting low-energy beta particles that cannot penetrate the skin, and are therefore not dangerous outside the body.
If inhaled or swallowed, however, the beta particles present a radiation hazard.
As with all poisons, the risk depends on the dose.Trace levels of tritium are present naturally in all water supplies and are not harmful. Higher exposures, however, may cause cancer, and have also been linked to birth defects in the children of people who are exposed.
Worker blamed for nuclear leak at Indian plant | World news | guardian.co.uk
State-owned power company launches inquiry after radioactive tritium in water cooler makes 55 employees ill
Authorities investigating the deliberate leaking of a radioactive substance into drinking water at an Indian atomic plant say a disgruntled worker could be behind the safety scare.
The state-owned atomic power company launched an inquiry into how radioactive tritium seeped into a water cooler and remained at levels dangerous enough to make 55 employees ill after they drank the contaminated water.
Urine samples found workers at the Kaiga nuclear power plant, in the southern state of Karnataka, had unusually high levels of radioactivity in their bodies.
Residents around plant get locked in - dnaindia.com
The mischief at India's most modern nuclear power plant in Kaiga, 35 km south of Karwar (Karnataka), that left 55 employees ill has struck fear among the residents of nearby Mallapuram. Almost a week after the incident, the township where the affected were taken for medical care, wears a deserted look, with most people keeping indoors.
Though the authorities have signaled 'no danger', employees of the plant and other residents alike are not venturing out even for daily needs. The entire area has been cordoned off and the road to Kaiga from Mallapuram blocked by investigators.
"We are living in constant fear since the incident took place," Suguna (name changed), a teacher who lives with her husband in one of the Type-B quarters, said.She is angry at the restrictions that have been put in place after radioactive material found its way into drinking water at the plant.
Radiation leakage in India nuclear power plant act of sabotage: official _English_Xinhua
The radiation leakage in a state-run nuclear power plant in southern India is an "act of sabotage" possibly by a disgruntled employees at the plant, India's Atomic Energy Commission chief Anil Kakodkar said on Sunday.
Some 50 employees of highly protected Kaiga Atomic Power Plant in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, southern India, fell ill for being exposed to the radiation leakage, after they drank water from a cooler in the operating area on Nov. 24.
"Somebody deliberately put the tritiated water vials into a drinking water cooler. Therefore, we are investigating who is behind the malevolent act. People involved will be punished under the Atomic Energy and other acts after investigation," Kakodkar told the media.
"The investigations are being carried out from two angles. First to ascertain as to who contaminated the water cooler with tritiated heavy water, and the second from radiation protection angle," said Kakodkar.
Radiation Leak at India Nuclear Plant Sickens Workers (Update1) - Bloomberg.com
Workers at a nuclear plant in India took ill after radioactive heavy water contaminated their drinking water and the state-run Nuclear Power Corp. suspects “mischief” may have been the cause.
An unspecified number of workers at the Kaiga plant, in southern Karnataka state, were advised to visit doctors for “routine medical consultation” and are back on normal work schedules, the company said in a statement on its Web site late yesterday. At least 45 workers were hospitalized on Nov. 25 after they received higher levels of radiation than permissible, the Times of India newspaper reported, without citing anyone.
The Hindu: 55 workers at Kaiga receive excessive radiation
CHENNAI: About 55 workers of the Kaiga Atomic Power Station in Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, had to undergo medical treatment after they were exposed to an excessive radiation dosage when they drank water that had been mixed with tritium, a highly radioactive substance.
Top officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited blamed the incident on “an insider’s mischief.” They alleged that “an insider had mixed tritium in drinking water in a cooler kept in the operating island of the first unit” at Kaiga. The incident took place on November 25, when the first unit (220 MWe) was under shutdown for maintenance.
Asked specifically whether security was so lax at the plant that a worker could access a bottle containing tritium, an authoritative official said there were sampling points in the reactor building from where workers took vials containing radioactive substances to the chemical laboratories for analysis.
“There are standard protocols for handling and managing the transportation and depositing of such radioactive substances. Some insider has played the mischief,” the official said. The incident was detected when the workers’ urine samples showed an excess of tritium.
Canada, India reach nuclear deal
Canada and India announced a major nuclear trade deal Saturday.
Officials in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office say the agreement, which has been in the works since the summer, will allow Canadian firms to export and import “controlled” nuclear materials, equipment and technology to and from India.
The deal, expected to be signed and implemented soon, has been controversial because Canada cut nuclear trade in 1974 after India used Canadian materials to manufacture its first nuclear weapon.
But the Harper government has been keen to re-establish the relationship because they estimate the energy market in the world’s largest democracy will be worth between $25 billion and $50 billion during the next 20 years.
South Asia Mail: Say no to nuclear plant, Mahasweta tells tribals
Railing against a proposed nuclear power plant in West Bengal's Haripur, celebrated writer Mahasweta Devi has urged tribals to send five post cards each to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying no to the plant.
"The proposed nuclear power plants in the country are the brainchild of the prime minister. So you have to take the protests to his doorstep," Mahasweta Devi said while addressing a convention of tribal people here Tuesday.
The Magsaysay award winner called upon tribals to carry out an intense but peaceful and democratic agitation against the proposed Haripur power plant in East Midnapur district.
"Each of you should send five postcards to the prime minister. On each postcard it should be written 'Say no to Haripur nuclear power plant in West Bengal'," she said, giving the audience the addresses of the prime minister's residence and office in the national capital.
India puts nuclear plants on alert-report | Reuters
India has put its nuclear power plants under alert and tightened security around them after intelligence about possible attacks, a report said on Monday.
The step comes after a man arrested in the United States on charges of plotting attacks in India was found to have travelled to Indian states that have nuclear installations.
The Press Trust of India quoted unnamed sources in the home ministry as saying that state governments had been asked to step up security around their nuclear plants as a "precautionary measure".
"The step is precautionary in nature. The states have been asked to increase the vigil and patrolling to thwart any sabotage attempt aimed at these vital facilities," a home ministry official was quoted as saying.
Indian media often reports security alerts based on unnamed intelligence sources.
Land trouble may trip N-power in Gujarat
Vashram Patel, a farmer in the Jasapara village in Gujarat, says it is better to “fight and die” on his land rather than move to another place.
“Most of us are illiterate and we have done nothing except farming for generations now. Where will we go?” Patel asks, signalling the beginning of yet another land acquisition problem in India.
Patel’s angst may spell trouble for Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) which is planning to set up a 6,000 Mw nuclear power project in the area.
NPC is facing protests from farmers who are refusing to make way for the Rs 50,000 crore project, the first major initiative after the civilian nuclear agreement between India and the US.
At nuclear plant site, another village says no | Top News
The second round of the land acquisition process for the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant has also met with dissent.
On October 31, residents of Karel village in Ratnagiri district, about 450 km from Mumbai, refused to accept acquisition notices for about 70 hectares to set up colonies for the staff employed at the plant site.
The notification summoned around 165 villagers to collect their compensation cheques on November 10.
“I did receive information that some villagers did not accept the acquisition notices. However, we are yet to decide the next course of action,” said Makarand Deshmukh, special land acquisition officer.
Of the five villages — Madban, Mithgawane, Karel, Niweli and Ansure — from which land has to be acquired, Karel is the second village where the notice has been sent.
In rural India, resistance to proposed nuclear plants - washingtonpost.com
Standing precariously on the thin edge of a newly dug well, Ajitbhai Narela looked out proudly at his groundnut and mango saplings.
For decades, he said, his family has tilled the soil here, working the land and producing sweet-tasting fruit. But soon, he noted, the fields may disappear. If Indian officials have their way, land in this seaside village will be paved over for a nuclear power plant.
AFP: India orders probe into 'toxic' US ship
India has ordered a probe into whether a former American naval ship heading for a breaking yard on the country's west coast contains toxic materials after protests by environmental groups.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told reporters late Thursday that he had ordered the enquiry into the Platinum II that dropped anchor off the coast of Gujarat on October 4.
He said he hoped "to get the report within the next two days".
The ship has put India's ship-breaking industry back in the spotlight following a previous controversy over the French warship "Le Clemenceau".
‘Radioactive’ ship near Alang: Inquiry ordered
An inquiry has been ordered into reports that an allegedly radioactive contaminated ship from the US has anchored off the Alang coast in Gujarat, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday.
“We have got complaints that a radioactive contaminated ship has anchored at Alang. We have already ordered an inquiry into the matter and hope to get the report within the next two days,” he told reporters in New Delhi even as environmentalists in Gujarat demanded that the US government recall the ship.
Now, nuclear power corp in land acquisition row- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times
MUMBAI: Another mega power project has got embroiled in land acquisition row. Local villagers have decided to oppose the acquisition of 938
hectares of land for the proposed 9,600-MW Jaitapur nuclear power project in Ratnagiri district. The government started the process of acquiring land on Thursday.
The project involves setting up of six European pressurised water reactors (EPRs), each with 1,600 MW capacity, and is expected to be completed by 2020, Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) CMD SK Jain said. The NPCIL has tied up with French state-owned nuclear energy giant Areva for the project.
The Hindu: Nuclear power: myths, realities
Nuclear power suffered because of accidents. But no one abandoned it because of accidents
The impact of water used as coolant may extend up to about 500 metres from the discharge point
The doses to members of the public are too small and well within the AERB limit
The speakers at a well attended side event at the recently held International Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy at Delhi (September 29-October 1) recommended a proactive, public awareness programme on issues related to energy, particularly nuclear energy.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Department of Atomic Energy and Indian Nuclear Society jointly organized the meeting.
The U.S.-India nuclear deal--one year later | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Article Highlights
* Last October, despite opposition from the arms control community, the United States and India entered into an agreement that allowed for nuclear commerce between the two countries.
* The early returns seem to indicate that the agreement is here to stay, as already many Indian and U.S. companies are experiencing a financial windfall from it.
* With the relaxed trading guidelines, other countries such as Russia, Sweden, and France also are looking to conduct nuclear business with New Delhi.
October 8 marks the one-year anniversary of former President George W. Bush signing into law the so-called U.S.-India nuclear deal. The deal proved controversial from its inception because it ended a 34-year U.S. ban on nuclear trade with India, a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). And yet despite heavy criticism of the deal--especially from arms control and disarmament advocates--one year later, it appears solidly entrenched as long-term policy.
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