The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project plans to establish monitoring stations in a few villages around the project site for measuring radiation, if any, according to a senior official of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).

Unlike thermal power stations, which emit huge amount of particulate matter, fly ash and bottom ash, nuclear plants do not emit effluents in large quantity. Though the waste produced from reactors is minimal, it will be highly radioactive. However, safety measures incorporated in reactors will not allow the radiation to be transmitted from the reactor core, the official said.

Protesters opposing the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) on Monday demanded that the Union government organise a nationwide debate on the country’s energy policy, particularly on the ongoing as well as proposed nuclear power programmes.

Convener of the Anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project Struggle Committee, S.P. Udayakumar, said the current agitation against the KKNPP would be suspended if voters chose to support the Congress overwhelmingly in the next Lok Sabha polls even after a transparent nationwide debate.

Asserting that “third generation plus” safety features had been incorporated in the reactors of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, Union Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayanasamy on Sunday said the first 1,000 MWe reactor would start generating power by December-end.

He told reporters that the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), which were keen on guaranteeing the safety and security of the people living around the KKNPP site, had ensured the incorporation of state-of-the-art seven-tier safety features in the reactors.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) on Wednesday asserted in the Supreme Court that no danger will be caused by spent fuel from the Kudankulam nuclear reactor.

Making this submission before a Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra, Solicitor General Rohinton Nariman said the spent fuel, after being discharged, is reused for generating electricity.

The bench asked the state government to be "serious" on the safety issue and directed it to conduct mock drills in the villages on a regular basis.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it clear to the government that all safety measures for handling disaster must be put in place at the Kudankulam power plant before it is operationalised saying there can be no compromise on it. A bench of justices K S Radhakrishanan and Deepak Misra also asked the government to submit disaster management plan before it and directed the Tamil Nadu government to carry out mock drills covering all the 40 villages situated within 16 Km radius of the plant.

State will have to wait for unit to stabilise to get full quota

Will the commissioning of the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) lead to less load shedding in Tamil Nadu? There may not be much change in the situation in the immediate future, according to a section of experts. However, a former Member (Generation) [MG] of the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Electricity Board says there will be some impact on the grid once generation from the first unit stabilises.

The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project is likely to be commissioned by December 15, V. Narayanasamy, Union Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office, said here on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference, he said the trial run of the first reactor was in progress after an inspection by experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.

NEW DELHI, 9 NOV: The controversy-hit Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) will start producing power by the first week of December and the first tranche of 1,000 MW will go to Tamil Nadu, Unio

The Centre on Wednesday maintained in the Supreme Court that for establishment of a desalination plant for Units 1 and 2 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project, no fresh environmental clearance was required.

Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran made this submission before a Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra, hearing the Kudankulam case.

The anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project protestors have decided to stage a road roko on two arterial highways in December demanding the closure of the ready-to-be-commissioned nuclear reactors.

A decision to this effect was taken in the meeting held at Idinthakarai, on Tuesday, in which representatives of a few political parties and some organisations participated along with activists.