CONNAN
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‘Liability has been taken by the operator'
THE Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has several ambitious plans to build more Light Water Reactors (LWRs) fuelled by enriched uranium for India's nuclear-powered submarines, to construct a special material enrichment facility in Chitradurga district in Karnataka to step up uranium enrichment capability, and to build 10 indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MWe each that will use natural uranium as fuel.
In the background of the Lok Sabha passing the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, on August 25 and the Rajya Sabha approving it on August 30, and the first anniversary of India launching its first nuclear-powered submarine, called Arihant, at Visakhapatnam, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Srikumar Banerjee spoke to Frontline in a 70-minute interview in Chennai on September 2. Banerjee, who is also Secretary, DAE, not only spoke about these plans but argued that the DAE did not take sides during the nationwide debate on the Bill.
We [the DAE] are not taking sides. We just want to make a victim-friendly [piece of ] legislation and make the operator liable, he said in answer to a question on why officials of the DAE/Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited seemed to be batting for American suppliers of nuclear power reactors to India. He asserted that the legislation was India-centric and that it cannot be based on what you are calling pressures from other countries. In the case of a nuclear incident, the victims must get prompt and no-fault compensation, he said.
Banerjee revealed that there was not only total capacity enhancement in India's existing uranium enrichment plant at Ratnahalli, near Mysore, but significant improvement in our technology. Besides, when the uranium enrichment plant in Chitradurga is ready, it should be able to feed enough enriched uranium to large-sized 1,000 MWe Light Water Reactors. Excerpts:
It has been more than a year since India's nuclear-powered submarine, Arihant, was launched. What is the progress on that? Has the LWR on board the submarine been started up?
Our nuclear steam supply system is ready 100 per cent. From our [DAE] side, everything is ready. We are only waiting for other systems to become operational so that we can start the commissioning activity of the reactor. The rest of the submarine parts have to be ready before we can start the reactor. I do not know when the harbour trials will be done.
The Navy will need three or four nuclear-powered submarines for this arm to be a viable force. Arihant will not do. Will you build more LWRs for these nuclear-powered submarines?
We are already doing that. I will not be able to tell you the number, but it is a fact that we are in that game. The next nuclear steam-generating plants are getting ready for future applications.
Where will the enriched uranium for these boats come from? Only the Rare Materials Plant at Ratnahalli, near Mysore, produces enriched uranium. Will the proposed special material enrichment facility in Chitradurga district be helpful?
Chitradurga will come a little later, not immediately. Our Ratnahalli plant capacity has been enhanced. But more than that, there is significant improvement in our technology. Usually, a term called separating work units [SWUs] defines the technology level that we have achieved in this, and I can assure you that there has been considerable improvement in SWUs of our next-generation caskets of centrifuges. The separating capacity of our centrifuges has improved. So, total capacity enhancement has been done at Ratnahalli. We are confident of supplying the entire fuel for the set of . This has given us the confidence to build the [enrichment] plant. You cannot say anymore that India does not have enrichment technology. India has its own technology and can produce [enriched uranium]. We have not started doing it for large-scale commercial nuclear power stations, which require a much larger quantity of enriched uranium. We will be able to do that once we go to Chitradurga.
How big will the Chitradurga facility be in terms of capacity?
I will not be able to tell you now. The scheme is not yet ready. It should be able to feed enough enriched uranium to large-sized, 1,000 MWe nuclear power plants.
LWRs of 1,000 MWe capacity?
Yes. As you add more and more caskets, the production capacity will gradually increase. Our plan is to increase the production capacity to eventually meet the entire requirement of the country.
There is an impression that the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Indian Industry are scaring people by saying that U.S. companies will not sell India nuclear reactors and that Indian companies will not provide components and equipment for them if clause 17(b) of the Civil Liability for the Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, continues to remain in the legislation. (Clause 17 says: The operator of the nuclear installation, after paying the compensation for nuclear damage in accordance with Section 6, shall have a right of recourse where
(a) such right is expressly provided for in a contract in writing;
(b) the nuclear incident has resulted as a consequence of an act of supplier or his employee, which includes supply of equipment or material with patent or latent defects or substandard services;
(c) the nuclear incident has resulted from the act of commission or omission of an individual done with the intent to cause nuclear damage.) Top officials of NPCIL went on record saying that clause 17
(b) would deter suppliers from engaging in nuclear commerce with India. Why are the DAE/NPCIL batting for U.S. suppliers?
THE Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has several ambitious plans to build more Light Water Reactors (LWRs) fuelled by enriched uranium for India's nuclear-powered submarines, to construct a special material enrichment facility in Chitradurga district in Karnataka to step up uranium enrichment capability, and to build 10 indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MWe each that will use natural uranium as fuel.
In the background of the Lok Sabha passing the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, on August 25 and the Rajya Sabha approving it on August 30, and the first anniversary of India launching its first nuclear-powered submarine, called Arihant, at Visakhapatnam, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Srikumar Banerjee spoke to Frontline in a 70-minute interview in Chennai on September 2. Banerjee, who is also Secretary, DAE, not only spoke about these plans but argued that the DAE did not take sides during the nationwide debate on the Bill.
We [the DAE] are not taking sides. We just want to make a victim-friendly [piece of ] legislation and make the operator liable, he said in answer to a question on why officials of the DAE/Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited seemed to be batting for American suppliers of nuclear power reactors to India. He asserted that the legislation was India-centric and that it cannot be based on what you are calling pressures from other countries. In the case of a nuclear incident, the victims must get prompt and no-fault compensation, he said.
Banerjee revealed that there was not only total capacity enhancement in India's existing uranium enrichment plant at Ratnahalli, near Mysore, but significant improvement in our technology. Besides, when the uranium enrichment plant in Chitradurga is ready, it should be able to feed enough enriched uranium to large-sized 1,000 MWe Light Water Reactors. Excerpts:
It has been more than a year since India's nuclear-powered submarine, Arihant, was launched. What is the progress on that? Has the LWR on board the submarine been started up?
Our nuclear steam supply system is ready 100 per cent. From our [DAE] side, everything is ready. We are only waiting for other systems to become operational so that we can start the commissioning activity of the reactor. The rest of the submarine parts have to be ready before we can start the reactor. I do not know when the harbour trials will be done.
The Navy will need three or four nuclear-powered submarines for this arm to be a viable force. Arihant will not do. Will you build more LWRs for these nuclear-powered submarines?
We are already doing that. I will not be able to tell you the number, but it is a fact that we are in that game. The next nuclear steam-generating plants are getting ready for future applications.
Where will the enriched uranium for these boats come from? Only the Rare Materials Plant at Ratnahalli, near Mysore, produces enriched uranium. Will the proposed special material enrichment facility in Chitradurga district be helpful?
Chitradurga will come a little later, not immediately. Our Ratnahalli plant capacity has been enhanced. But more than that, there is significant improvement in our technology. Usually, a term called separating work units [SWUs] defines the technology level that we have achieved in this, and I can assure you that there has been considerable improvement in SWUs of our next-generation caskets of centrifuges. The separating capacity of our centrifuges has improved. So, total capacity enhancement has been done at Ratnahalli. We are confident of supplying the entire fuel for the set of . This has given us the confidence to build the [enrichment] plant. You cannot say anymore that India does not have enrichment technology. India has its own technology and can produce [enriched uranium]. We have not started doing it for large-scale commercial nuclear power stations, which require a much larger quantity of enriched uranium. We will be able to do that once we go to Chitradurga.
How big will the Chitradurga facility be in terms of capacity?
I will not be able to tell you now. The scheme is not yet ready. It should be able to feed enough enriched uranium to large-sized, 1,000 MWe nuclear power plants.
LWRs of 1,000 MWe capacity?
Yes. As you add more and more caskets, the production capacity will gradually increase. Our plan is to increase the production capacity to eventually meet the entire requirement of the country.
There is an impression that the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Indian Industry are scaring people by saying that U.S. companies will not sell India nuclear reactors and that Indian companies will not provide components and equipment for them if clause 17(b) of the Civil Liability for the Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, continues to remain in the legislation. (Clause 17 says: The operator of the nuclear installation, after paying the compensation for nuclear damage in accordance with Section 6, shall have a right of recourse where
(a) such right is expressly provided for in a contract in writing;
(b) the nuclear incident has resulted as a consequence of an act of supplier or his employee, which includes supply of equipment or material with patent or latent defects or substandard services;
(c) the nuclear incident has resulted from the act of commission or omission of an individual done with the intent to cause nuclear damage.) Top officials of NPCIL went on record saying that clause 17
(b) would deter suppliers from engaging in nuclear commerce with India. Why are the DAE/NPCIL batting for U.S. suppliers?