· Nuclear energy is best substitute for Electricity production with the running out of fossil fuels like Coal and Natural Gas.
Twenty-five 1,000 MW VVER reactors are in operation in five countries. Kudankulam plants have more advanced safety features
The Unit 1 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) is under advanced stage of commissioning. Construction of Unit 2 is progressing well. In the meanwhile, sections of the public have expressed apprehensions about the safety of these reactors. Lack of understanding, misconceptions and misinformation contribute to this. Apparently, the Fukushima accident and other issues influence them.
Twenty-five VVER 1,000 MW reactors are in operation now in five countries. Nine more are under construction. The version offered to India is more recent and has more advanced safety features.
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and specialists from reputed academic institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, the Boilers Board and the Central Electricity Authority have spent over 7,000 man-days in carrying out the safety review and inspection of the Kudankulam reactors.
These system-wise reviews were comprehensive. AERB used relevant documents from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and IAEA's peer reviews of VVER for safety assessment of these reactors.
These reactors belong to the Generation 3 + category (with more safety features than Generation 3) with a simpler and standardized design.
Also the Kudankulam site is located in the lowest seismic hazard zone in the country.
The reactors have redundant, diverse and thus reliable provisions needed to control nuclear reactions, to cool the fuel and to contain radioactive releases. They have in–built safety features to handle Station Black Out.
Besides fast acting control rods, the reactors also have a “quick boron injection system”, serving as a back-up to inject concentrated boric acid into the reactor coolant circuit in an emergency. Boron is an excellent neutron absorber.
Twenty-five 1,000 MW VVER reactors are in operation in five countries. Kudankulam plants have more advanced safety features
The Unit 1 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) is under advanced stage of commissioning. Construction of Unit 2 is progressing well. In the meanwhile, sections of the public have expressed apprehensions about the safety of these reactors. Lack of understanding, misconceptions and misinformation contribute to this. Apparently, the Fukushima accident and other issues influence them.
Twenty-five VVER 1,000 MW reactors are in operation now in five countries. Nine more are under construction. The version offered to India is more recent and has more advanced safety features.
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and specialists from reputed academic institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, the Boilers Board and the Central Electricity Authority have spent over 7,000 man-days in carrying out the safety review and inspection of the Kudankulam reactors.
These system-wise reviews were comprehensive. AERB used relevant documents from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and IAEA's peer reviews of VVER for safety assessment of these reactors.
These reactors belong to the Generation 3 + category (with more safety features than Generation 3) with a simpler and standardized design.
Also the Kudankulam site is located in the lowest seismic hazard zone in the country.
The reactors have redundant, diverse and thus reliable provisions needed to control nuclear reactions, to cool the fuel and to contain radioactive releases. They have in–built safety features to handle Station Black Out.
Besides fast acting control rods, the reactors also have a “quick boron injection system”, serving as a back-up to inject concentrated boric acid into the reactor coolant circuit in an emergency. Boron is an excellent neutron absorber.
The enriched uranium fuel is contained in Zirconium-Niobium tubes. It can retain the radioactivity generated during the operation of the reactor. The fuel tubes are located in the 22 cm thick Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) which weighs 350 tones. Reactor Pressure Vessel is kept inside a one meter thick concrete vault.
The reactor has double containment, inner 1.2 meter-thick concrete wall lined on the inside with a 6 mm layer of steel and an outer 60 cm thick concrete wall. The annulus between the walls is kept at negative pressure so that if any radioactivity is released it cannot go out. Air carrying such activity will have to pass through filters before getting released through the stack. Multiple barriers and systems ensure that radioactivity is not released into the environment.
KKNPP-1&2 has many new safety systems in comparison with earlier models. The Four-train Safety-System instead of just one system leads to enhanced reliability. The reactors have many passive safety systems which depend on never-failing forces such as gravitation, conduction, convection etc.
The reactor has double containment, inner 1.2 meter-thick concrete wall lined on the inside with a 6 mm layer of steel and an outer 60 cm thick concrete wall. The annulus between the walls is kept at negative pressure so that if any radioactivity is released it cannot go out. Air carrying such activity will have to pass through filters before getting released through the stack. Multiple barriers and systems ensure that radioactivity is not released into the environment.
KKNPP-1&2 has many new safety systems in comparison with earlier models. The Four-train Safety-System instead of just one system leads to enhanced reliability. The reactors have many passive safety systems which depend on never-failing forces such as gravitation, conduction, convection etc.
Its Passive Heat Removal System (PHRS) is capable of removing decay heat of reactor core to the outside atmosphere, during Station Black out (SBO) condition lasting up to 24 hours. It can maintain hot shutdown condition of the reactor, thus, delaying the need for boron injection.
It works without any external or diesel power or manual intervention.
The reactors are equipped with passive hydrogen recombines to avoid formation of explosive mixtures .The reactors have a reliable Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS).
There is a core catcher located outside the reactor vessel, in the form of a vessel weighing 101 tones and filled with specially developed compound (oxides of Fe, Al & Gd) is provided to retain solid and liquid fragments of the damaged core, parts of the reactor pressure vessel and reactor internals under severe accident conditions.
The presence of gadolinium (Gd) which is a strong neutron absorber ensures that the molten mass does not go critical. The vessel prevents the molten material from spreading beyond the limits of containment. The filler compound has been developed to have minimum gas release during dispersal and retention of core melt.
The reactors are more modern and safe. Public may rest assure that Indian scientists and engineers will operate the reactor safely.
It works without any external or diesel power or manual intervention.
The reactors are equipped with passive hydrogen recombines to avoid formation of explosive mixtures .The reactors have a reliable Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS).
There is a core catcher located outside the reactor vessel, in the form of a vessel weighing 101 tones and filled with specially developed compound (oxides of Fe, Al & Gd) is provided to retain solid and liquid fragments of the damaged core, parts of the reactor pressure vessel and reactor internals under severe accident conditions.
The presence of gadolinium (Gd) which is a strong neutron absorber ensures that the molten mass does not go critical. The vessel prevents the molten material from spreading beyond the limits of containment. The filler compound has been developed to have minimum gas release during dispersal and retention of core melt.
The reactors are more modern and safe. Public may rest assure that Indian scientists and engineers will operate the reactor safely.
France has 59 Nuclear Reactors, and 80% of the electricity supply depends on nuclear energy. Its electricity price is among the lowest in Europe.
USA has 104 nuclear reactors and 19.6% of its electricity is providing by it.
Russia has made plans to increase the number of reactors in operation from 31 to 59 and soon electrify dependency on nuclear energy will increase from 16% to 25%.
USA has 104 nuclear reactors and 19.6% of its electricity is providing by it.
Russia has made plans to increase the number of reactors in operation from 31 to 59 and soon electrify dependency on nuclear energy will increase from 16% to 25%.
But along with dependency on electricity on nuclear energy, we should also take care about inefficient transmission and distribution (T&D) of electricity. For every 100 MW of electricity generated in India, between 30-40 MW is lost in Transmission &Distribution.
Industrialized countries like Sweden have a Transmission &Distribution loss of less than 7%. In other words, of the total 180,000 megawatts of electricity generated in India, 72,000 megawatts (40%) is lost, wasted. That is equivalent to shutting off all power plants in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
If efficiency were to be increased to, say 90%, the savings would be the equivalent of setting up a 60,000 MW power plant -- or about 60 plants the size of the Koodankulam plant that is currently at the heart of a controversy -- with a fraction of the investment.
It is really wonderful project and very much beneficial for the development of the country. Still protest is going on to stop the work on the project. Here are some reasons and solutions.
It is tragedy of our country that we do not keep away the things from politics. Fine! Government need to give permission to the project. Every leader is not wise enough to understand scientific things and who understand it very well they tell it is safe. Then there should not be any issue at all .Even Abdul Kalam Sir(Former President), declared that it is very much safe.
1) Why do not we keep our internal issues in our country only? Who are US to tell us we should not work on this project and if we do so then people will face problems?
2) NGOs!! OH GOD! NGOs are losing faith in people and misleading them by showing so called concern. I always supported this project, because a great Human and finest mind kalam Sir declared it very much safe. He is a man with integrity not like spineless leaders we have right now in the country. He never throws words in the wind.
3) Government should take strict action against the people who are trying to misleading the people on the name of so called concern.
4) We should keep our internal issue to our country only.
5) We should organize meeting with the great scientist of the country to mobilize people about this project.
6) State and central government should do advertisement about this project and its safety. When government can spend crore of rupees on their own advertisements why they can not do it?
7) Chief Minister of Tamilnadu Jaylalita should be more sincere and need to look after the people who are doing fake protest.
8) About NGOs! It is the time we need to draw some lines for them. Do clear one thing to NGOs, where they should not interfere.
9) Every one need to look in their own areas only, keeps away the game of politics from such project and policies that benefit country.
10) PM instead of making his comments to a channel person should have addressed to the protesters of his evidences of foreign funding and also impress them how safe the plant is instead of asking others to defend him.
11) What did the congress government did after the Bhopal tragedy? just escorted the CEO with safety still we didn’t get the justice for the people .End of this if any problem goes wrong who is going to suffer only the people and the future generations it is not Manmohan Singh or Sonia Gandhi family .This is the fear of people, do it clear that there will not be any case like this in future. Government need to be accountable to the people or to Supreme Court.
12) Do clear the people in their minds that Bhopal tragedy was because of Britishers, they approved the project and it was running for long time without knowing it was not safe. Tell them that its Indian government and they can not run away from the country if such incident happened again. They will be accountable to us only. Do clear that time to time project will be checked by great scientists.
13) Let them know about the power plant fully, whether it is by advertising of the project, meetings with the people, by accountability, by direct intervention with them, draw some lines for the NGOs, state and central both need to work together because it is about country.
For rest politics there will be many chances to play games, but for now let it put aside please. That’s all from my side.
Written by me and my two friends Robinhood Rises and Puturajan Sritharan.Thanks to them for providing me information about Kudunkulam Power Plant simply.
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