The nation’s leaders have evaded democratic sanction for the deal by first keeping back the details and then drowning a limited debate on an essentially economic issue in political noise. This has divided the nation into political groupings, without proper understanding of the issues. In this, rather delayed essay, an attempt has been made to draw attention to certain non-political aspects of this non-political issue.
The world is well aware of the risks inherent in reactor accidents. This is why nowhere, with the exception of France have any new reactors been set up in the last thirty years. Any possible rethinking must have been hastily put at rest by the disaster at Chernobyl, located in Russia – a developed nuclear technology country. The accident in the three mile island also in ‘developed’ U.S.A. appears to have been forgotten, as the place was uninhabited. But a public sector nuclear weapon plant near Denver in USA was closed in 1989 on orders of Environment Protection Agency (EPA) after discovery of radioactive leak. Thousands of workers are fighting the government for compensation and health care reimbursement. With the government taking advantage of cleverly worded legislation only some of them have thus for received help. A report in New York Times of June 13, 2007, mentioning that 67 of them have so far died has revived unpleasant memories. No wonder USA prefers gas based energy production to new nuclear reactors. Switzerland through a referendum has decided against nuclear reactors.
The world is well aware of the risks inherent in reactor accidents. This is why nowhere, with the exception of France have any new reactors been set up in the last thirty years. Any possible rethinking must have been hastily put at rest by the disaster at Chernobyl, located in Russia – a developed nuclear technology country. The accident in the three mile island also in ‘developed’ U.S.A. appears to have been forgotten, as the place was uninhabited. But a public sector nuclear weapon plant near Denver in USA was closed in 1989 on orders of Environment Protection Agency (EPA) after discovery of radioactive leak. Thousands of workers are fighting the government for compensation and health care reimbursement. With the government taking advantage of cleverly worded legislation only some of them have thus for received help. A report in New York Times of June 13, 2007, mentioning that 67 of them have so far died has revived unpleasant memories. No wonder USA prefers gas based energy production to new nuclear reactors. Switzerland through a referendum has decided against nuclear reactors.
In India, there have been accidents at three of its nuclear reactors. I like to specifically mention the one at Narora, where a prior warning of mechanical defect was ignored. The leak at Uranium mine in Jharkhand is another example of casual approach to safety concerns. With no automatic warning system in place, the matter was brought to the notice of authorities by a passerby, several hours after he had noticed it. Another shameful aspect of this episode is that the world came to know of it through the Feb. 28 issue of the fortnightly ‘Down to Earth’, while the accident had taken place in Dec. 2006. Let us look at what others do. Reacting to a slight delay in informing the public about an effluent leak following a recent earthquake affecting the reactor site at Niiga, the Japanese government has for the time being ordered closure of the plant. In another incident at a privately owned nuclear weapons factory near New York, the warning siren system was found out of order by the EPA. The result was a fine of one lakh thirty thousand dollars. We have seen two examples how EPA works. By contrast, we have an Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. It is a toothless body answerable to the Atomic Energy Commission, which in turn, in headed by the Chief of the government department of Atomic Energy.
Natural disastrous can upset the best managed plans. That is why Japan a ‘resource poor’ country, in currently reconsidering the reactor route to energy generation. In our country however, the worst disaster in industrial history at Bhopal – the accident as well as the aftermath, has taught us nothing. 22 years have gone by without a single guilty person being punished and without those affected being compensated and looked after appropriately. This perpetuates our traditional careless approach to safety concern. The safety norms continue to be flouted at the Koondakulam reactor being set up now. Installing new reactors without rectifying the Bhopal wrong would be suicidal.
The quantum of power needed by the country today and in the near future is definitely less than the potential generating capacity of our existing installations. In other words, the need can be met simply by improving efficiency. This anyhow is absolutely necessary because the wrong has to be righted; but also because the generation from the newly proposed reactors will start many years from now. The small additional amount realistically expected from those reactors is anyhow less than what we can save by avoiding waste and doing the only right thing a poor country must do, namely avoiding a part of the luxurious spending by officialdom and the stinking rich. For the distant future, anyhow the reactors cannot match the need. The quantum of Uranium imports now proposed is a foolishly large addition to our already unmanageable trade imbalance. There are several safer and abundant alternatives being pursued by all nations of the world. The newest idea of geothermal power generation currently being pursued in Switzerland too could be followed. These will at once save the globe from warming as also from horrors of radioactivity.
Nuclear power generation is expensive in every country. But by handing over thousands of acres of land to reactors, we will also have to spend more on food imports and a lot more on rehabilitation related problems of displaced populations. It is not clear if the deal will bring us technology that we do not already possess. It certainly will not bring us the technology that France and Japan possess, which is said to be superior. Also a large number of countries are keen to get rid of their dangerous to store surplus and expensive Uranium. It is not clear that we have made the effort to obtain the cheapest bargain. It is also not clear that the deal ensures timely supplies. The boast about having persuaded USA to let us do our own Uranium enrichment appears to be a trick. The US government stopped enrichment in 1990 and the private sector industry USEC engaged in this trade in running at a loss, and that country imports most of its needed enriched Uranium.
The deal has gone past several stages and has still to go past two international bodies and the US Houses of Parliament. Interestingly, an independent democratic India is told it has been okayed by all of us, without anyone even having had a look at the draft. Also that there is no provision for a second look.
Fortunately this less strong country still involved in the deal has a weapon, which no individual or organization mentioned hitherto has had. That weapon is with the common man, who if he thinks what all is happening is not right, can refuse land for location of a reactor in his neighbourhood. The politicians have a face saving opportuny by associating with the common man.
( The author is a former Director of UGC Centre for Advanced Study in Mathematics at Panjab University, Chandigarh, and is currently associated with Azadi Bachao Andolan, Allahabad.)
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