The Kundankulam Nuclear power Project also called KNPP, has been controversial right since its inception. Mass agitation organized by the not for profit People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), have delayed operations at the plant for months. Protestors from neighboring states like Kerala (which is likely not to benefit from the plant) claim that any explosion in the plant will impact the capital city of Thiruvananthpuram which would need to be evacuated in order to avert a tragedy.
With Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as the ideal poster boy for this project, it would have been easier for the project to gain acceptance. I mean how difficult would it be to believe our beloved, petite, ex-president known to be a man of great intellect and integrity. Dr.Kalam’s inspirational speeches at the project site encouraging people to dream big and pearls of wisdom like “how history wasn’t made by can’t doers” should be enough to brain wash people into believing that all is indeed well. But even Dr.Kalam has not been able to put a dent in the anti-KNPP movement.
Nuclear accidents right from the Chernobyl catastrophe to the recent Fukushima tragedy have had not only short term but also long term impacts on the health and safety of the people living close to these disaster sites. Kundankulam has been declared “safe” built using latest technology with all safety measures in place and located in the lowest seismic hazard zone of the country. This should be sufficient to guarantee people’s support for this mammoth project. What is then triggering this peaceful dissent against supposedly safe KNPP? Proponents of the project believe it’s a lack of understanding, misconceptions and misinformation that has contributed to the agitation. However to me there is a graver dimension to the problem.
Yes, people are protesting because they are scared about the possible leakage of radiation from the site incase of a natural calamity like an earthquake. But perhaps the biggest reason is also the knowledge about the vast amounts of nuclear waste or radioactive waste that will be generated from the plant. The disposal of this waste has not been made clear by the KNPP managers.
We all are aware about India’s history with handling hazardous waste. India's coasts have been witness to dumping of medical, chemical waste from foreign lands for a long time, thanks to lax government laws on hazardous waste disposal. This is also the same country where everyday significant amounts of electronic waste are handled by child workers all over the country. Will managment of huge quantities of nuclear waste generated from the plant be any different? Disposal of radioactive wastes is a global problem. And when one sees examples of developed countries like the US struggling to prevent more of their soil and water from getting contaminated by radioactive wastes, it is hard to believe whether the story in India would be different. The US has disposed off its radioactive waste through the most popular mechanisms, which is burying the waste deep underground. However this hasn’t prevented the waste from making its way to the water or the soil. According to one estimate, in Fernald, Ohio there is a site contaminated with 2.5 billion pounds of nuclear waste!
Do we want the same for India already gasping for more land for its ever growing population? The link between energy and economic growth is well established. But what I fail to understand is that why India refuses to learn from the mistakes made by the developed nations dependent heavily on nuclear power and now struggling to manage their radioactive waste. Why can’t we build more capacity on other forms of renewable energy like solar? a resource we are most abundantly endowed with. Yes solar power is expensive, but so is nuclear power; KNPP is being built at a cost of USD 3 billion. Do we still need nuclear power then? Lets look at the sun for answers.
References:
The Hindu: http://www.hindu.com
Wikipedia: http://www.wikipedia.org
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