An interim report of an internal probe by Nuclear Power Corporation indicated possibility of mischief by an insider.
Government today said it was reviewing processes and procedures at all nuclear power stations following the "deliberate" contamination of drinking water at the Kaiga Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in which 92 employees suffered radiation.
Making a suo-motu statement in the Lok Sabha, minister of state in PMO Prithviraj Chavan there was no security breach or damage to KAPS and "all the plant systems are operating safely."
He said there was no radioactivity release in the environment due to the incident of drinking water contamination at Kaiga, which has been described as "mischief by an insider".
An interim report of an internal probe by Nuclear Power Corporation indicated possibility of mischief by an insider who had deliberately added some heavy water containing tritium to the drinking water cooler, he said.
"As regards the investigation, the local and central agencies are at work and the evidence like log books, close circuit TV footage, analysis of water samples etc are being used to ascertain the facts," he said.
Chavan said on November 24 urine samples of employees working in the combined service building for reactor units I and II showed higher than normal traces of tritium, a heavier isotope of hydrogen.
"The processes, procedures and human performance aspects of all stations of NPCIL are being reviewed again to carry out reinforcements as appropriate," Chavan said.
Chavan said urine samples of about 800 personnel working in the area were analysed and 92 were found to have tritium content higher than normal.
At this stage two persons are having tritium in their body that can cause their extrapolated annual radiation exposure to marginally exceed the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) specified limit, he said.
However, even in the case of these two persons further medical management will bring down their potential radiation exposure to less than the AERB specified limit in a short time, he said.
In the event of uptake of tritium by the human body, the flushing processes of the body like urination, perspiration and excretion brings down the excess levels, he said adding that this process can be hastened through medication.
An FIR had been filed on December one at the local Mallapur Police station, he said.
Help of local and central agencies has been taken and evidence available would be used to identify the culprits, he said adding that "action would be taken against those found responsible for the incident."
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