The process to obtain Environmental Clearance for setting up an Away from Reactor [AFR] facility for the Spent Nuclear Fuel [SNF] at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project 1 & 2 is currently in progress, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Prime Minister’s Office, Jitendra Singh has informed Parliament.
In a written reply to questions raised by DMK MP P. Wilson in the Rajya Sabha, about the storage of SNF at the KKNPP, Mr. Singh said the SNF storage facilities anywhere in the country are set up only after obtaining all statutory approvals, including Environmental Clearance from the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change [MoEF & CC], safety clearances from the regulatory authority and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board [AERB] to ensure that it does not pose any radiological hazard to people and the environment nearby.
Mr. Singh said AERB has accorded siting clearance for the AFR storage facilities at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plants [KKNPP]-1 & 2 and KKNPP -3 &4, after verifying compliance to the regulatory and safety requirements.
He further said the AERB was currently carrying out design safety review of the AFR. He said Environment Clearance for the KKNPP 3-6, including storage facilities for the SNF was granted by the MoEF & CC after careful consideration following the due process. AERB has accorded consent to establish the facility in KKNPP 3 & 4.
The facilities for the storage of SNF in the premises of a nuclear power plant, until it is sent for reprocessing [including at the KKNPP sites] are designed with a comprehensive approach to safety to withstand extreme natural events like earthquakes and tsunamis with provisions of large operational safety margins for safe, sound and reliable performance.
“These are designed, constructed and operated as per regulatory requirements and subjected to regulatory reviews and audits, which ensure robustness in safety at all stages of the facility, ensuring that there is no adverse impact on plant personnel, general public or the environment. Such facilities are already in operation at Tarapur, Maharashtra and Rawatbhata, Rajasthan, sites, which are operating safely without any impact on the personnel, public and environment,” the Minister said.
