Amid growing public resistance to nuclear power projects, India has sought new test reports from the French nuclear authority before finalising orders.
Amid growing public resistance to nuclear power projects, India has sought new test reports from the French nuclear authority on safety issues raised in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster in Japan before finalising orders for reactors from France's atomic energy giant Areva.
"We have asked the French to provide the ASN (the country's nuclear safety authority) report on the safety features related to EPRs after the new assessment," Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Srikumar Banerjee said on Tuesday.
Banerjee, who is attending the International Atomic Energy Agency's 55th General Conference, said from Vienna that he had conveyed the decision to have the ASN report to French Energy Minister Eric Besson.
The ASN report would be available in December this year, he said.
In December last, India had signed a USD 9.5 billion framework deal under which Areva would build two European Pressurised Reactors for the 9900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (JNPP) in Maharashtra with an option for four more.
The proposed project is facing stiff resistance from the local population, several political parties and activists who want it scrapped after the radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plant after the Tsunami in March this year.
The opposition to nuclear power has spilled over from Jaitapur in Maharashtra to Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu where 100 odd protesters are on a fast to voice their concern over the safety of the 2000 MW atomic power plant.
The protest prompted Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday to order immediate halt work on the project until the public concern over safety issues had been addressed.
The Prime Minister rushed Minsiter of State in PMO V Narayanasamy to the project site seeking to allay the fears of the local people.
According to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. officials, it is only after the ASN report is received that India will go ahead and place orders for the EPRs.
The opposition from the public and political parties notwithstanding, India wants to raise its atomic energy component to a quarter of its total power by 2050 from a minuscule three per cent at present.
Earlier this month, V Narayanasamy had in his written reply to Lok Sabha said that a review of safety aspects at the proposed JNPP was being carried out by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
"Atomic Energy Commission has also deputed an expert committee for assessing the technology and the safety aspects of EPRs. The Committee carefully examined these issues and visited the plants under construction in Finland and France," he said.
He told the House that the Committee also had discussions with regulatory authorities in Finland and France where the type of EPRs sought by India are being manufactured.
Following the Fukushima accident, safety review of the EPRs is underway in France and will be further reviewed by AERB, Narayanaswamy said.
"On review by NPCIL, it was found that the originally proposed computer systems needed further reinforcement to meet the regulatory requirements. Similar observations were also expressed by other regulators like USNRC (USA), STUK (Finland), HSE (UK), ASN (France)," the Minister said.
Accordingly, modifications of computer systems for Control and Instrumentation architecture in respect of EPRs units to be set up at Jaitapur site will be done to meet all the safety and regulatory requirements of AERB, Narayanasamy had said.
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