Raising apprehensions over the proposed away from reactor (AFR) nuclear spent-fuel storage for the units of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tirunelveli district, AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam on Wednesday urged Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to take steps to stop the project.
“If such a facility is set up, nuclear waste from other States might be stored here [at Kudankulam] later on. This is quite dangerous. The Tamil Nadu government has the duty and responsibility to oppose the proposal in the initial stages,” he said in a statement.
Pointing to the silence observed by the Tamil Nadu government, Mr. Panneerselvam said, “Though nuclear power plants are dangerous, they are located in Tamil Nadu, and other States benefit from them. In this situation, it would be appropriate to set up the AFR facility outside Tamil Nadu.”
He also pointed out that over 2,000-MWe power generated from the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was shared not only by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry but 15% of it was being shared with the Central grid.
Recalling the protests by locals against the AFR facility for the first two units, Mr. Panneerselvam said, “Environmentalists contend that the AFR facility would not be so safe as spent-fuel storage below the plants. They have contended that the radiation may be reflected in air and water.”
The floating of tenders for the AFR facility for the third and fourth units of the Kudankulam plant by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited was not only “worrisome” but an act that would severely affect the locals, Mr. Panneerselvam argued.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh’s reported statement in Parliament that “there was no need for a deep underground geological disposal facility in the near future” further strengthened the chances of the establishment of the AFR facility, the former Chief Minister said.
