CHENNAI: The design and location of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) are completely safe and fears over the safety of the installation are legitimate but unfounded, the former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission M R Srinivasan has said. He added the plant would have started generating electricity in December had the current protests not stalled work.If the current stalemate prolonges, the cost of power production would only go up, he said.Srinivasan, who has been part of India’s nuclear programme since 1955, cited details from his engagement with the KKNPP. He had been part of the AEC Site Selection Committee that had picked the site for the power plant in 1984. He had also been the Chairman of the AEC and the official witness when the agreement for the project was signed by then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1988.He read out the numbers and details that validated the site of the KKNPP as a safe spot for the power plant, covering a wide band of safety-related issues such as the threats of radiation, tsunami, earthquakes and disaster preparation.“Those who oppose the project on the grounds of safety are mistaken and lack understanding,” declared Srinivasan. “They are relying on spreading falsehoods and rumours. For instance, locals have been told that if the nuclear plant starts to function their children will become impotent. I say, our own people, who work for the Department of Atomic Energy, are going to live close to the plant. And I am talking about around 10,000 families. If that impotence story is true, how would you explain all the babies being born in Kalpakkam?” asked Srinivasan.Stating that KKNPP was geared up to produce electricity that could be supplied at under `3/MWh, he expressed hope that the delay would not delay the economics of the plant. Srinivasan also stressed on the crucial role of nuclear power in India’s energy mix in the coming years, as there were few other options on the board.Calling the current stalemate a PR debacle, he called for more transparent exchange of information between officials and the communities around the plant.
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