Current Affairs- FAQ on Kudankulam issue- Part 7

5.17) Reprocessing:

            This has been covered at 5.16) above.

5.18) Radiation Safety

Routine Emissions:

      After going through the documents of KKNPP, it is seen that

·        No radioactivity release through the sea water cooling is possible since this loop is physically separated by three levels from the coolant loop which enters the reactor.

·        However some low and medium level waste would be generated in the station which is treated inside the plant. Very low level effluents from these would be            generated and there are norms and limits for their releases.

·        Gaseous routine emissions are basically exhaust air from building ventilation systems. It is filtered in High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters and Activated Charcoal filters before discharge to the Stack.

People’s safety and wellbeing:

      The authorized limit of low level effluents through air and water from KKNPP is restricted such that it will not lead to more than around 4.36 percent of the dose limit for the public recommended by ICRP (1 mSv). The expected rated releases would however be much lower (0.02 %). The concentrations of discharges are measurable and their limits are fixed to ensure this. The limits of concentrations in aquatic and atmospheric releases fixed are such that the dose will never exceed the authorized limits. The concentrations of discharges through stack are monitored continuously. The activity levels of liquid discharge are monitored daily to ensure this. Further the environmental survey program of the Environmental Survey Laboratory, an organization independent of NPC is sufficiently intense to assess the impact, if any, on the flora and fauna and in estimating the dose to a member of the public. The laboratory is in operation since 2004 and routine pre operational radioactivity analyses of the samples are being carried out to establish background levels. As in all the other nuclear sites the environmental radioactivity assessment program would be continued after the station goes into operation to ensure   that there is no impact of the station on the environment and to the public. The periodic reports are audited by the Regulatory Board.

      ESL monitors the Environment around the Plant. It has been collecting and analyzing the samples like water, air, soil, flora and fauna, right from the pre‐operational stage of the plant from the year 2003, which forms the baseline data. The baseline data has been established and records are available for reference. This activity will be continued throughout the entire lifetime of the Plant and records maintained. Records at other Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) sites in India indicate no impact on the flora and fauna. As a matter of fact the flora around NPP sites are vastly improved with large scale plantings and landscaped gardens as can be seen at KKNPP which improves the fauna around the station. This can be corroborated in all NPP sites.

People’s health

      People who have been living for generations in the high background areas in our country, receiving 25 times more dose from natural radiation do not have any ill effects as medically proved by the studies of Regional Cancer Centre Trivandrum.

     

      DAE workers live in close vicinity of atomic centers all over India (their limit for exposure is        100 times more than the KKNPP limit)have been proved to have no noticeable health effects.

      As such we feel that the radiation safety of the people around KKNPP is guaranteed and there would be no impact of the operation of the power station on the public.

A word about the genetic effects of radiation.

·        People in the high background areas of Kerala stay for generations exposed to more    than 10 times the natural radiation background elsewhere. Many independent studies particularly by the Regional Cancer Research Centre, Thiruvananthapuram on the people there have been conducted and the conclusions show that no deleterious effect could be noticed which is attributable to radiation.

·        The epidemiological survey of the radiation workers in the country whose dose limit is 20 times more than that for the public does not show any such effects.

·        UNSCEAR, an International committee on the effects of atomic radiation working           for more than 60 years found no genetic effects even amongst the progenies of the Hiroshima Nagasaki atomic bomb victims.

           

            When this is the fact how a small percent (1%) of the natural radiation dose that might          be received around nuclear power stations lead to any genetic effect or cancer incidence?

           

            The fear about genetic effects of radiation around nuclear sites is more psychological and is contrary to scientific facts.

Baseline data on health concerns:

     

      Pre operational health data around Kudankulam

      A health status and demographic survey of the people in 52 villages around Kudankulam           was conducted by M S University during 2004‐2008. This will serve as the baseline data to evaluate the impact due to the operation of the station later.

      67,029 subjects were involved and data on cancer incidence was part of this survey 136 cases of cancer were reported. Cheek and uterus cancer were the most common. The prevalence of cancer corresponds to 202.8 per lakh of population which is in par with the rate for Tamil Nadu (225)

The world over investigations show that only certain type of cancers notably that of

thyroid is due to the effect of radiation.

Workers safety and well being:

      The recommendations of limits of exposure for radiation workers by ICRP are:

     

      20 mSv/yr averaged over five consecutive years

      A dose of 30 mSv in any year;

      Lifetime effective cumulative dose limit ‐ 1Sv

     

These are the limits adopted by AERB. KKNP further stipulates in house limits to ensure that in no case workers will exceed these limits. They have monthly, quarterly limits to ensure this. The experience in all NPCIL nuclear reactors shows that during the last 5 years no worker has exceeded the cumulative limits.

The limits are such that these do not lead to any adverse health effects. KKNPP has an intense program of monitoring the radiation exposures using monthly monitoring using TL dosimeters. These are augmented by use of direct reading dosimeters. The records of the exposures are kept by the station and by the centralized DAE dose registry.

The operations carried out in KKNPP do not envisage leading to any significant internal exposures through inhalation or ingestion of radioactivity. However there are internal monitoring programs at KKNPP such as whole body counting to assess the dose to workers through this route.