A detailed peer review of safety parameters in Koodankulam carried out by the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) has found no major concerns,and given the project its green signal. The results of the review,commissioned by the Department of Atomic Energy,could help assuage safety concerns over the nuclear power plant going critical. The review,essentially a safety audit of preparedness levels,was commissioned before the beginning of the current agitation against the plant. The study was in its last leg when the protests started. According to reliable sources,the study,carried out by a 15-member international team over a period of five weeks in August-September,did not find any significant drawback except for pointing out general upkeep issues. WANO is considered the most prestigious international body of nuclear operators,of which India too is a member. The new Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill calls for peer review by international partners to ensure high safety standards. This was one of the criticisms against the Fukushima plant. It is learnt that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was apprised of these details last week at a meeting he called on the Koodankulam issue. The DAE and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd made it known that along with the WANO audit,as many as five reviews have been carried out of Indian reactors after the Fukushima incident,none of which had detected any alarming fault. Koodankulam,the site for the first 1,000 MW reactor in India,was indexed the best in terms of matching latest safety standards. Another important review was done at the instance of the environment ministry by a four-member expert group under the chairmanship of A M Muthunayagam,former secretary of the Department of Ocean Development. He was specifically asked to examine coastal nuclear sites and the safety measures that could be adopted in case of a tsunami. While the final report is yet to be formally accepted,sources said,this expert group too has concluded that safety margins at Indian coastal nuclear sites were enough to cope with a tsunami,going by the latest seismic codes and data. The DAEs internal committee looked into the entire programme and submitted a long list of recommendations,which have mostly been implemented. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Atomic Energy Commission too constituted separate committees to look into safety aspects. Based on these reports,several additional safety measures were adopted. While the WANO group specifically assessed the operational preparedness on safety issues in case of a calamity or an accident,the other groups looked at design specifications as well. All these reports have given the green signal for Koodankulam,the sources said. However,in view of continuing safety concerns,the Prime Minister has asked for an aggressive public outreach programme at every nuclear facility. National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon is said to have asked the DAE to draw up fixed timelines for the programme. The PM,who is also the minister in charge of atomic energy,is now slated to himself meet a delegation of protesters from Koodankulam. At the meeting with DAE officials,Singh made it clear that atomic energy was the way forward,but efforts must be made to convince people about this rather than forcing the issue.
