Press Release for the Press Conference - 19.07.2013 - Chennai Press Club ================================================= The Central Government’s recent announcement on commissioning the unit 1 of KKNPP that negates the 700-day old struggle of the villagers in and around Idinthakarai as also the persistent demands of various political parties, social organizations and individuals to close the power plant, is shocking and condemnable. The Centre’s hasty action in issuing order for First Approach Criticality after submitting a misleading report to the Supreme Court’s registry raises several pertinent questions. The Supreme Court in its order dated May 6 had categorically stated that the 15 conditions should be met, a report should be submitted on the same and only then can the plant be commissioned. Accordingly, the AERB, NPCIL, MoEF and TNPCB should submit their reports in the Supreme Court. No step has been taken to withdraw the cases against the protestors as advised by the Apex Court. The Tamil Nadu government and the officials of Tirunelveli district has not taken any step to conduct the mandatory disaster management exercise for people living in the radius of 16 km of the proposed nuclear plant. A report on the standard of the components and safety measures implemented ought to have been submitted in the Apex court. It is evident that the KKNPP has over a lakh of components. It could take several months and sometimes years to examine the components and submit a report. However the Centre’s decision to commission the plant in two months of Supreme Court judgment is only an act of deception. It is also important to note that KKNPP is not free of corruption charges. Sergei Shutov, director of Zio Podolsk which supplies components to the KKNPP has been arrested in Russia on charges of corruption. Officials from Rosatom which is the mother company of Zio Podolsk and Informtek which supplies components to nuclear power plants have also been tried for corruption charges. India is among the countries that has procured components from these companies. However, while the corruption charges have created a storm elsewhere, the Indian government and NPCIL brazenly attempts to hide the truth staking the lives of thousands of people. The NPCIL, after the prolonged struggle of the people, have admitted that the components have been procured from Zio Podolsk. AERB’s former chairperson A Gopalakrishnan has expressed fears about the probable use of substandard equipment in KKNPP. Questions loom large over disposal of nuclear waste and construction of power plant in a quake-prone site. It might be noted that Units 1 and 2 do not have CRZ clearance. NPCIL has argued that the power plant and related structures have "special exemption" from Rajiv Gandhi (1989) on the ban on construction within 500 metres from High Tide Line. However, the desalination plant was an afterthought. MoEF told NPCIL to apply and that it would consider. However, CRZ Notification 2011 does not have any provision to accord CRZ clearance post-facto. NPCIL however applied. The State Coastal Zone Management Authority recommended the project for clearance. NPCIL forwarded its application to MoEF in February 2013. In March 2013, the Expert Appraisal Committee recommended the project for clearance without any condition to dispose the effluents in deep sea. The effects of hot water are immediate. Discharging 6.3 billion litres of hot water a day on the beach would kill the plankton in the nearshore waters. Plankton -- the microscopic plant matter -- is the foundation of the food chain. Because the hot water is lighter than cold water, it will float. Plankton too is mostly found near the surface as it requires sunlight for photosynthesis. As the temperature of water increases, the levels of dissolved oxygen in the water will reduce. This will kill life that is sensitive to small changes in DO. Further, the heat also has the potential to damage the cellular structure of plankton. Shrimp and lobster may not be directly hurt by the hot water as they do not feed and live near the surface. But they will move to other locations if the food supply here drops. Although, the water contains effluents with low levels of radioactivity, the levels may be further diluted by the massive volume of water and may not pose any risk if levels are maintained at AERB prescribed limits. However, in the event of upset conditions or serious radioactive mishaps, the beaches down current of the plant could become seriously contaminated. Incidentally, the predominant nearshore current runs parallel to the beach from West to East. So the water released in Koodankulam plant will flow towards Idinthakarai. It is unprecedented that the protesting people have been slapped with over two lakh cases by the State. While Japan has decided to shut nuclear power plants down, it is inexplicable that the Indian Prime Minister thinks it fit to enter into agreements on nuclear power plants with the Japan government. The commissioning of the nuclear power plant as against the sentiments of people is a grave challenge posed to the Tamils. The people’s federation against KKNPP has decided to hold a siege demo in front of Central government office in Chennai on August 6, observed as anti-nuclear energy day after a disastrous nuclear bomb on Nagasaki killed thousands of people on the same day in 1945. The federation demands that the State and the Centre take steps to withdraw cases against the protestors. We also demand that the plant should not be commissioned without safety features in place. The federation demands that the plant be closed. For the People’s Federation against Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant Kolathur T S Mani Coordinator.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:20:11 +0000
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