Flagging the “deep concern and apprehensions” of the people of Tamil Nadu over the disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) in Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to take action for transporting back the SNF to Russia. He said that he was making the earnest appeal on behalf of the eight crore citizens of Tamil Nadu.
“I request that in the interest of public safety, health and welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu, action may be taken to transport back the SNF to Russia. This must not only be for units 1 and 2, but also for the subsequent four units. In case this is not a feasible option, the spent fuel may be permanently stored in a Deep Geological Repository (DGR) in an uninhabited and ecologically non-sensitive area,” Mr. Stalin wrote to Mr. Modi.
The first two of the six 1,000 MW each nuclear power reactors planned in Kudankulam have been commissioned, while two others are under construction and the remaining two are yet to be established. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited proposes to construct an ‘Away from Reactor’ facility on the nuclear power plant site itself for storing the SNF generated from all six reactors.
When the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change had accorded permission to Units 1 and 2, the agreement was to collect and store the SNF temporarily within the unit’s premises and then send it back to the country of origin, Russia. “However, it was subsequently decided to store the SNF permanently in the Away from Reactor (AFR) facility to be located within the unit premises. This decision was taken without consulting the State government,” Mr. Stalin pointed out in his letter, which was shared with the media.
Sharing and conveying the “deep concern and apprehensions” of the people of Tamil Nadu regarding the hazards and potential danger of the AFR storage facility of the SNF within the plant premises, Mr. Stalin contended that “several such facilities across the world have faced accidents leading to disastrous impacts on the environment and the people residing in and around such plants.”
Contending that the local people were “apprehensive of the fallouts” and have been protesting against the AFR facilities within the complex, Mr. Stalin further requested that in the interest of public safety, health and welfare of the people of Tamil Nadu, action may be taken to transport the SNF back to Russia. This must not only be for units 1 and 2, but also for the subsequent four units. In case this is not a feasible option, the spent fuel may be permanently stored in a Deep Geological Repository (DGR) in an uninhabited and ecologically non-sensitive area.
