Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd has said it would revisit the safety standards at all atomic power plants in the country in the wake of the nuclear crisis in tsunami-struck Japan.
“We will sincerely revisit (all the nuclear power plants) whether there was any need for augmentation...” the company Chairman and Managing Director, Mr S.K. Jain, told reporters at the Atomic Power Station in Kalpakkam here on Thursday.
Noting that Indian reactors have “successfully” withstood the strongest Bhuj earthquake and tsunami, he said they would not compromise on safety and definitely make a revisit.
“Our reactors have successfully withstood the worst Bhuj earthquake and tsunami but that does not mean we can be complacent. We will definitely revisit, we will augment it and show it all to our country men”, he said.
He said India has got 85 monitoring stations to examine the radiation levels in the atmosphere. “If there is any increase in the radiation levels, within seconds it is known to our crisis management group and emergency centre which are located in 85 places across the country”, he said.
He pointed out that after the tsunami in 2004, the diesel generator level at Kalpakkam Atomic Power Station was increased by two metres.
“Earlier the height of the diesel generator was 10.68 metres... but after the tsunami, it has been heightened to 12.68 metres...” he said.
Besides, he said they had also set up a wall across the Kalpakkam Atomic Power station at a cost of Rs 30 crore designed scientifically to prevent the reactors getting affected by such natural disasters.
Mr Jain said the nuclear reactors at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant were designed in such a way that the reactor would remain the same and shutdown automatically even if the entire crew members were out.
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