As heads of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) met prime minister (PM) Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Wednesday, national security advisor (NSA) Shiv Shankar Menon said India’s nuclear reactors could not be categorised as dangerous as they were designed differently and had passive cooling, unlike the reactors in Fukushima, Japan, which leaked radiation last week.
“We have asked Atomic Energy Commission to learn lessons from Japan. We store our fuels differently. In Japan, they store hydrogen fuel. We have asked for a detailed review of design and safety features, which they [AEC] will submit to PM.” The heads of AEC, AERB and NPCIL are taking stock of the situation.
They are reviewing the safety of Indian nuclear reactors, which fall in different zones depending on the degree of risk on a scale of one to seven.
Chernobyl was at number 5, while the Japanese nuclear radiation leaks are at number 4, which means there is some risk to the locals.
India has two boiling water reactors in Tarapur, much like Japan.
All reactors in India, except the one in Narora, Uttar Pradesh, have passive cooling.
