Sites for nuclear power projects evaluated by SSC

MUMBAI: The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Director (Technical), S A Bhardwaj today said the sites offered by states for setting up Nuclear power projects are evaluated by the Site Selection Committee (SSC) of the Government. Talking to reporters here, he said SSC evaluates the sites in line with the criteria laid down in the AERB Code of Practice on Safety in Nuclear Power Plant Siting, which inter alia, gives the mandatory and desirable requirements of the site from safety considerations. These include assessment of seism city, location of faults, geology, foundation conditions, meteorology, potential of fl ooding (from tsunami, storm surge and others at coastal sites and from rain, upstream dam break and others at inland sites), proximity to airports, military installations, facilities storing explosive and toxic substances, he said. The environmental setting comprising of bio-diversity, including fl ora and fauna and marine ecology in the region is also evaluated. In addition, availability of land, water, electricity demand in the region and the availability of other energy options also form the basis for evaluation. The SSC submits its recommendations to the Government, said he. The Government, after due process, accords ‘in principle’ approval for the site, Bhardwaj added. Kudankulam site was also evaluated by the then Site Selection Committee and approved after due process then prevalent. The detailed site evaluation report was submitted to Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), who after a detailed review, accorded site clearance for Kudankulam site. According to the AERB code an area in the radius of 1.5 km, called exclusion zone, around the reactors is established, where no human habitation is permitted. This area forms the part of the project and is included in the land acquired. The AERB Code of Practice on safety in an exclusion area of appropriate size (at least 1.5 km radius from the reactor centre) shall be established around the reactor and entry to this is to be restricted to authorised personnel only. The Kudankulam site has a much lower seismic hazard when compared to Fukushima in Japan, Bhardwaj said,. The Kudankulam plant buildings have been designed for much larger earthquakes. The structures, systems and equipment of the plant are designed for an earthquake magnitude of 6.0 on Richter scale with a peak ground acceleration of 0.15 g. Kudankulam site is located far off (about 1500 km) from the tsunamigenic fault (where tsunamis originate). Thus a tsunami would take time and lose some of its energy by the time it strikes Kudankulam site. There is also a shore protection wall and important buildings are located higher than the fl ood level arising out of tsunami, storm surge, wave run up and tides. he said. The buildings housing emergency power supplies are located further higher. The sketch below shows the levels of important buildings and the design fl ood levels, he added. The approved cost of the project is Rs 13171 crore. The expenditure fi gures are submitted to the various monitoring agencies of the project like DAE, MOSPI and Parliamentary Committees and are thus in the public domain. The tariff of electricity generated by the project will be competitive with other sources in the region and expected to be around Rs 2.50 per uni