'Indian Nuclear reactors prepared for any internal, external threat'

The department of atomic energy is technologically and physically prepared for any internal or external threat perception by developing additional inherent safety features, director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre RK Sinha said today.

"In any kind of situation of internal and external threat or anyone tries to hoodwink the reactor system, there would be no danger to the public as we have developed additional integrated safety and physical protection technologies," Sinha said inaugurating the two-day National Conference on Advances in Nuclear Technology (ADNUTECH-2010) on successes, spin offs and opportunities' in Mumbai.

"The currently operating reactors are quite safe with 'attack proof' double containment but the new hardware and the security system developed by BARC which have been already demonstrated successfully will be an additional feature to shut down the reactor automatically in case of any emergency," he said.

"We envisaged constraint in land availability for the future N-power reactors with increasing population and therefore this development of additional safety and security technologies was important," Sinha said.

"With this technology, we can also forgo the 1.6km exclusion zone (which is currently practised by NPCIL) and also assure the public absolute safety," he said adding this also requires transparency.

"The new technology is a passive system (using laws of nature like gravity) and will be implemented in Advanced Heavy Water Reactor," he said.