Asking people not to nurture even a nano sized particle fear about the safety of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has said the four basic safety criteria have been tested and found to be working well.
"At a time when a debate is raging on the 2,000 MW atomic power project set up in Kudankulam, it is necessary to share with the people in a scientific and simple manner the truths about the reactors - their dependability, safety, benefits and other aspects," Kalam has suggested in a report prepared with his aide V. Ponraj.
The report has been submitted to the state and central governments, Ponraj told IANS.
According to Kalam, a former nuclear and missile scientist, there is no need for people to nurture even nano sized safety fear.
KNPP more than satisfies the four basic safety criteria of a nuclear power plant - nuclear criticality safety, radiation safety, thermal hydraulic safety and structural integrity safety.
The passive heat removal system in the Russian reactor has been incorporated at India's insistence, the report states.
KNPP, he said, is located in seismic zone II where there is no chance of an earthquake with a magnitude of 6 point on Richter scale.
The reactor building is built in such a way as to tolerate such an earthquake. On the tsunami threat, the Kalam report states that the site is located about 1,500 km from the tsunamigenic fault (where tsunamis originate).
Hence, geologically and scientifically, there is no chance of a tsunami hitting the Kudankulam coast, according to the report. Even if there is a tsunami, the waves will lose energy by the time they strike the Kudankulam site.
If there is a tsunami, wave height would not exceed 5.44 metres, whereas the reactor is located at 8.7 metres height, turbine plant at 8.1 metres, diesel generators at 9.3 metres height, and switch yard at a height of 13 metres, the report states.
According to Kalam, the reactor will automatically shut down in three minutes flat in case of natural disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis.
The report said the reactors have an efficient passive heat removal system and there is no fear of radiation leakage.