M. Appavu writes to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Former MLA of Radhapuram M. Appavu has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to stop the filling-up of enriched uranium fuel in the first reactor of Kudannkulam Nuclear Power Project until credible arrangements are made to send the nuclear waste to be generated at KKNPP back to Russia and adequate financial allocations are ensured to give compensation to radiation victims in case of nuclear mishaps.

Atomic Energy Commission chairman R K Sinha said the first unit of 1,000 Mw at the Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu should be operational by the end of the calender year.

Fuel loading, deferred after the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) directed upgrade of safety applications, was on and would be complete in one and a half months. “However, it will not be possible to give you an exact time when the first unit would be commissioned, especially in view of further directives from AERB and also because of a case pending in the Supreme Court.

Of 17 recommendations of AERB, only six have been complied with, he says

The safety measures recommended by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) are crucial and the Kudankulam nuclear power plant should not be allowed to be commissioned without implementing these measures, argued counsel Prashant Bhushan in the Supreme Court on Thursday. Appearing for petitioner G. Sundararajan, social activist, he submitted before a Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra that the AERB had recommended 17 safety measures, of which only six were complied with and 11 yet to be put in place.

Days after the Supreme Court was moved for disbanding the controversial Koodankulam nuclear power project, a new plea was filed in the top court on Monday seeking direction that the Russian company involved in setting up of the plant in Tamil Nadu pay damages in the event of an accident.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which is likely to come up for hearing on Thursday, states that the Koodankulam nuclear plant should be governed by the law of the land, i.e., the Constitutional principles of absolute liability and the polluter-pays principle.

The Kerala-Kudankulam march led by writers and social activists on Sunday to express solidarity with the anti-nuclear protests in Kudankulam was blocked by the police near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border at Inchivila.

Kerala Anti-Nuclear Support Group, which organised the march, then tried to bus the activists to the protest site. But this attempt was also derailed when the bus was stopped and asked to return by TN police before Kudankulam.

Based on ground-level report of the 7-member AERB teams carrying scrutiny at the plant

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) on Thursday said the fuel loading at the first 1000 MWe unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) had not yet begun owing to last minute checks. The AERB would give the final clearance for fuel loading only after a review of the ground-level report of its seven-member team carrying out the scrutiny, S.S. Bajaj, Chairman of AERB, told reporters on the safety measures at the KKNPP. He added that it was the responsibility of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to meet the necessary regulatory parameters.

But agrees to examine risk associated with project, saying safety of people living in its vicinity is of prime concern

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stay the loading of fuel for the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam, but agreed to examine the risk associated to the project, saying safety of people living in its vicinity is of prime concern. "Public safety is of prime importance. There are poor people living in the vicinity of the plant and they should know that their life would be protected," a bench of judges K S Radhakrishanan and Deepak Misra said while posting the matter for hearing on September 20.

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to stay loading of fuel for the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam but agreed to examine the risk associated to the project, saying safety of people living in its vicinity is of prime concern.

“Public safety is of prime importance. There are poor people living in the vicinity of the plant and they should know that there life would be protected,” a bench of justices K.S. Radhakrishanan and Deepak Misra said while posting the matter for hearing to September 20, 2012.

Some suggestions were for a short term and would be completed in six months, while some were long-term

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) said the safety measures it had recommended to enhance safety at the Kudankulam nuclear plant would be implemented through the next two years. Last year, following the disaster at the nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan, the AERB had reviewed the safety of all nuclear power plants in the country. An AERB committee had recommended various factors be considered before loading fuel into the Kudankulam plant. However, AERB has faced criticism for agreeing to load the fuel without heeding the recommendations.

Tension prevailed here for about five hours on Sunday as the police thwarted a bid by about 3,000 agitators to lay siege to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) site to protest fuel-loading in the reactor.

Earlier in the day, the protesters, led by the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy convener, S.P. Udayakumar, surprised the police, who deployed about 4,000 personnel, marched towards the site through the shore around noon.