NUCLEUS OF DISASTER

Whenever there are accidents or leakages in nuclear plants, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) officials try to hush it up as a minor technical defect. But in its aftermath, the findings done by anti-nuclear activists indicate that it had a forewarning of a major disaster in the offing. For years it had been known that the Tarapur and Rajasthan atomic power plants are not fully safe. In May 1994, following the collapse of 300-tonne concrete dome in Kaiga Atomic Power Project, a complete shutdown of N-power plants in the country for the thorough check-up was ordered by Dr. A. Gopalkrishnan, the then Chairman of AERB. He pressed the bosses of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to attend to safety problems. The Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) in Rawatbhata has a dismal track record. In 25 years it had been shut down more than 250 times due to some fault or the other. Coupled with this are reports that daily wage workers at the plant fall sick occasionally.At Trombay and Tarapur there are tonnes of radioactive fluids stored in dilapidated tanks and in many cases, the welding of the old pipes and containers are in need of urgent replacement. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai has more than 25 serious cases of safety problems.
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