People's perception about nuclear energy should change: V Venugopal

People's perception about nuclear energy should change if India has to meet its future power requirement pegged at 8,00,000 mw by 2032, V Venugopal, president of the Indian Association of Nuclear Chemists and Allied Scientists (IANCAS), said in Bhubaneshwar.

"People agree to the fact that there is a crisis but they lack unanimity on how to solve it," Venugopal told a workshop on Tuesday.

Though everybody agrees on the need to raise power generation to meet the growing demand, they are apprehensive about harnessing nuclear resources fearing it may not be safe, he said at a workshop on "Radiochemistry and application of "Radioisotopes" organised by Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), run by the Siksha 'O' Anusandhan Deemed to be University, in collaboration with IANCAS here.

Venugopal former director, Radiochemistry and Isoptope group at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, said concerns expressed on safety aspects of nuclear power plants country had to be addressed as it was important to tap all possible sources of energy.

"The issues being raised against nuclear power stations, as witnessed in Jaitapur and Koodankulam, stemmed from reported nuclear mishaps at the Three Miles Island in the US, Chernobyl in Russia and more recently the incident at Fukushima in Japan following the "Tsunami", he said.

Pointing out that India's total power genreatin has risen from a meagre 2000 mw at the time of independence to 1,70,000 mw today, Venugopal said all energy sources needed to be tapped to raise generation but only thermal, hydel and nuclear could be harnessed in a big way.

Burning coal to generate thermal power is being seen as a threat to environment because of the green house effect, while large hydel projects are facing huge impediments.

Advocating the case of nuclear power, Venugopal said such plants have a superior safety record compared to other major energy sources.

According to him, they don't emit green house gases, are virtually pollution free and the fuel needed will be available for centuries. Besides, the cost of nuclear power will be competitive while the waste can be securely managed in the long term.

It is fossil fuel and not nuclear power that raises an insoluble waste problem, he said.

Pointing out that the global nuclear industry having 436 operating reactors reported only one serious accident in 10,000 reactor years of operational time, Venugopal said nuclear plants have adopted the most stringent safety measures.

"Radiation has always been part of the natural environment and the benefits of the use of radiation and radioactive materials under controlled conditions greatly outweigh the risks," he said.