The first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) is scheduled to be operational by October 2012 and the 500 MW prototype fast breeder reactor in September 2014, parliament was told Wednesday.
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and in the Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayanasamy said: “The first unit of this project is now scheduled to be operational by October 2012 and the second unit is closely following.”
The two 1,000 MW units of KNPP were initially scheduled to be completed in December 2008.
“The project was initially delayed due to non-sequential receipt of equipment from the Russian Federation and subsequently due to local protests impeding the work during September 2011 to March 19, 2012. The government has taken steps to allay the legitimate apprehensions of the local people. Work has resumed round-the-clock since March 20, 2012,” he said.
He said the Kudankulam project is being set up in technical cooperation with the Russian Federation.
Referring to the prototype fast breeder reactor, Narayanasamy said the project has been rescheduled to September 2014.
A breeder reactor is one that breeds more material for a nuclear fission reaction than it consumes.
There has not been any rise in cancer cases, birth defects or any other ailments among employees working in nuclear power plants or among people living in close proximity to such plants, the government said Wednesday.
Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayanasamy made the assertion in the Lok Sabha, in a statement laid on the table of the house in response to a question.
He said medical examination of workers at each of the six nuclear power plants is carried out each year “in accordance with regulatory requirement prescribed by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)”.
The scientific data of these examinations – conducted during 1995 to 2010 – was analysed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). It established that “the cancer prevalence among the employees is lower, at 54.05 per lakh, compared to national prevalence of 98.05 per lakh”, the statement said.
In response to another question, the minister stated that radiation levels around nuclear power plants “are negligibly higher than those arising out of natural background radiation”.