Radiation contamination of water cooler act of mischief: NPCIL

Preliminary probe into the radiation contamination of a water cooler in Kaiga nuclear power plant has shown it was "possibly an act of mischief" and does not reveal any violation of operating procedures, leak or security breach, a top official said today.

"It is possibly an act of mischief. The related agencies are investigating," S K Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), which operates the plant in Karnataka's Uttara Kannada district, said.

Describing contamination of water cooler as a matter of concern, he said in a statement here that it was being investigated. Unit 1 at Kaiga continues to be under annual maintenance shut down since October 20. Unit 2 and 3 are operating normally. Unit 4 is under construction.

"All the systems of all the units are healthy and there is no release of radioactivity to the environment within the plant site and outside," Jain said. NPCIL has launched a probe by an expert committee to find out how a drinking water cooler in the high-security Kaiga plant was contaminated with tritium that led to some 50 people falling ill.

Kaiga Nuclear Plant Station director JP Gupta told PTI earlier over telephone from Kaiga that the incident has also been reported to the intelligence department.

"We are investigating the mischief. A committee has been formed," he said. Nuclear scientists are among those on the committee. State government agencies have also been alerted.