RETHINK ON ATOMIC POWER PROJECTS

EXPORT URANIUM AS ORE:

RETHINK ATOMIC POWER PROJECTS IN QUAKE PRONE ZONES

The sudden quest to uranium mining though Government of India floated the Uranium Corporation of India on 4^th October 1967, need not surprise us. The single minded chase for nuclear power by Manmohan Singh Government has resulted in activating uranium projects within India. Jharkand , the state that houses the headquarters of Uranium Corporation of India has uranium deposits in East and West Singhbum districts. The length of the ore deposit is 160 kilometers in a width of 1 to 10 kilometers.

In Meghalaya the KPM Uranium Project [ Kyelleng-Pyndengsohiong-Mawatahbah] had gathered momentum.

In Andhra Pradesh the Tummalapalle Uranium Project , for which all clearances have been given by Government of India will be one of the top 20 of world’s uranium reserves, according to the Atomic Minerals Directorate. This is situated in the Southern belt of Kadappa District, where Y.S.Raja Reddy, Y.S.Rajasekara Reddy, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and his son Y.S.R.Jaganmohan Reddy were and are mining magnates. Sixty thousand tons of uranium in a depth of 400 meters is found upto 160 kilometers length and P.B.Maithani Director of Atomic Minerals Directorate opines that this can fuel generation of 5000 M we of nuclear power  for 30 years.

Apart from this Kadappa District where all  global players in mining and atomic power plants will be competing to gain foothold, Gogi in Gulbarga District of Karnataka too has 4000 tons were companies will make a beeline. In Rajasthan too at Rohil in Sikar District 5000 to 10000 tons of uranium deposits have been found.  India has 19 operating Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors that use natural uranium as fuel. In a way these uranium deposits found may feed the raw material requirements of our 20 Atomic power plants, out of which Koodangulam Plant had triggered a nation wide debate on the need to go for atomic power plants.

In the aftermath of Japan’s Fukushima Atomic Power Plant disaster, world wide second thoughts on atomic power plants had made many countries to go for a rethink. Germany which should phase out nuclear power plants by 2035 had advanced the deadline to 2020. Lithunia, a tiny country which was dependent on Russia reactors to produce 70 percent of its power needs parted from Russian Federation and joined European Union two years ago. Immediately it took a bold and risky step to shut down its atomic power plants. It joined hands with Japanese power giant Hitachi and American power company General Electrical Company to develop alternative energy which will be available by 2020. India need not be adamant but should explore other options. At the moment India has 20 atomic power projects, some of which are in earth quake prone zones, as demarcated by Government of India.

By Government of India’s own classification of danger zones as depicted in the picture above atomic power plants are coming up. Let there a rethink before a disaster occurs.Just because we have uranium deposits, we need not go for Pressurized Heavy Water reactors. India can mine uranium and export uranium as raw material as it had been exporting iron ore for decades without processing the iron ore in India.

N.Nandhivarman, General Secretary Dravida Peravai