A FOOTNOTE TO ATOMIC POWER

 

35. A FOOTNOTE TO ATOMIC POWER

A man asked Socrates: How is Athens? I intend to move there.

Socrates asked a counter question. How is your present place of residence?

Lousy town, the man said. People have no affection. They cheat if they get a chance. Their main job is gossip. There is no security for life and property.

Socrates told him that Athens was also more or less the same.

Another man from the same locality asked Socrates. How is Athens. Socrates asked him the same counter question.

His reply was like this: It is a good town. The people are affectionate. There is not an iota of fraud or cheating. There is utmost safety and security for life and property.

Socrates told him. Athens is also like that.

Here, reality is the same. Only the perception changes. The same is the case with atomic power.

I had to face a similar conundrum on the day I joined the Department of Atomic Energy. A Public Interest Litigation had come up before the Mumbai High Court. The contention of the petitioners was that our nuclear plants were not safe and therefore the atomic reactor at Trombay should be shifted to a locality far removed from human habitation.

The arguments put forward by the complainants were matters of grave concern. They had extensively quoted from an interview given by a former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission to a national daily in 1998. ‘It is the desire of the Department of Atomic Energy that the government and the people should believe that our nuclear plants are safe. But the reality is that it is not so and I have documentary evidence to substantiate it. A national debate on the issue is called for. ’ It was underlining this crucial passage of the interview that the PIL was filed now.

The biggest and the most important nuclear plant in India is at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre at Trombay. It is located in a region that is susceptible to earthquakes. If ever an earthquake of intensity of 6. 5 on the Richter scale occurred, the consequenes would be disastrous, pointed out the petitioners. In the past there had been leaks in the reactor. In 1991 when there was a leak in a pipe, it was found that there was contamination of water bodies. There was a quantity of two million tonnes of liquid waste in the reactor’s store. . These containers storing the liquid occasionally get leaked, releasing radioactive water into the earth. There are indications of radiation of the ground, water and plants of the locality. Since contaminated material was released into the sea, fish seen in the sea near the nuclear plant show symptoms of radiation.

Neither the fishermen who catch them or those who sell them or consume them were aware of this danger. Once infested through the fish, generations are likely to suffer its adverse impact, it was contended.

The petitioners got the support of experts to point out that radiation levels in India were much higher than the permissible levels in other countries. According to them the level of radiation from the nuclear plants in India were hundred times the permissible levels. They pointed out that the United Nations had conveyed to India its concern over this matter. Nuclear power plant employees in India were subjected to ten times higher doses of radiation than their counterparts in U S, Europe and Japan, they contended.

Describing radiation as unseen poison, they explained how this adversely affected the human body in course of time. Cancer, miscarriage of births, diseases of the thyroid, genetic abnormalities and mental retardation are among its many consequences.

Making an impassioned plea, the petitioners argued for the shifting of the BARC to a faraway place and wanted that it should be brought within the ambit of very strict safety control measures.

The responsibility for filing an affidavit representing the goverment and the Atomic Energy Department fell upon me. The affidavit was prepared in consultation with experts from the field.

One of the points raised in the affidavit was about the way in which the Kalpakkam nuclear plant withstood the damages caused by the tsunami. When the tsunami came and gigantic waves wrought havoc in the Kalpakkam plant, the plant automatically shut down strictly as per pre-planned programme, without causing any unseemly incident whatsoever. That was an occasion when the efficiency of Indian technology, especially in the realm of safety, was manifested.

Scientists pointed out that since Trombay was far away from the sea, there was little likelihood of tsunami affecting it. Envisaging natural upheavals, the pioneering scientists headed by Homi Bhabha had raised mangroves extensively in areas surrounding the plant. That the mangroves were effective check against sea erosion and tsunami had been demonstrated on Tamil Nadu and Andaman coasts during the tsunami some years back.

The plants had also been designed in such a way as to withstand earthquakes of severe intensity. Also in keeping with the norms prescribed from time ti time by the International Atomic Energy Agency, safety precautions are updated and upgraded from time to time.

It was true that there were occasional leaks in the pipes transporting nuclear waste. One such leak took place in Trombay in 192, but could be contained soon. There are arrangements to detect leaks and promptly take remedial measures. The safety precautions installed in our nuclear plants were the best and the most effective in the world. There was a system of checks and balances in this area also.

After hearing both the versions, the Mumabi court dismissed the PIL. The court found that our scientists and scientific institutions were capable of effectively handling matters relating to nuclear energy. It suggested that the nuclear institutions themselves should introspect and come up with measures to find solutions to the people’s concerns.

When one hears of atomic power and atomic energy the thoughts flooding to mind are the hazy memories of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Chernobyl. The fact, however, is that man is subjected to radiation every moment of his life. This is not hazardous either. There is incessant radiation in the atmosphere. Even before the earth came into being there were radiation emitting objects in the universe.

We started having radiation from manmade objects only when we began development of weapons and energy from atomic power.

The depth and extent of radiation from these depended on various factors. The peculiarities of our locality, the nature of the land where the plant is set up, the character of the materials used in the construction, climate, rains, snow, the variations of atmospheric pressure and the direction of the wind.

Radiation from the outer space also goes on incessantly. But only a small portion of it reaches the earth. The atmosphere also imbibes a large quantity of radiation. The radiation level of the in flight staff of the aviation sector is twenty times that of others.

Many of the consumer articles we use in our daily life have radiation potential. Articles like luminous watches, measurement systems and paint emit radiation to some extent. Smoke detectors used in home and other buildings radiate alpha rays.

Radiation is also used for the benefit of mankind. Many industries use and make radio-active materials. Workers of such institutions are subject to radiation and always take precautionary measures.

The use of x-ray is very wide in many fields. Apart from its use as a medical tool to take pictures of man’s internal organs, it is used for the screening of baggage at airports, for finding out defects in welding, for estimating the width of printing paper and for the manufacture of plastic films.

In the agricultural sector also radiators is widely used. As many as 1,500 varieties of food crops and plants have been developed with the use of intense radiation. These plants not only give good crops but are capable of withstanding heavy rains and preventing pest attacks. Radiation was also made use of in the United States,Mexico and North Africa to eliminate the threat of attacks from locusts, worms and other pests. A procedure was also operational for the sterilization of pests through radiation.

It has to be pointed out that some of the greatest uses of radiation are in the health care area itself. Radiation implant is used for diagnostic purposes. The use of radiation in the treatment of cancer is too well known to be mentioned here. Radiation is used in surgeries and administration of drugs (chemotherapy). Another use is to sterilize the tools used in operations.

With the development of food technology, yet another beneficial use of radiation has been found: to preserve food for a long period without it getting stale. Normally about 20 per cent of the food manufactured gets stale before it reaches the intended consumer. This wastage can be considerably reduced with the help of radiation. Since the radiated food does not become radioactive, there is no problem for the person eating it.

There was general feeling that atomic plants are not safe. One reason for this is the fear generated by the accident at Chernobyl. Common people have the feeling that accidents at atomic plants are as dangerous as atomic explosions. However, studies show that the accident at the Three Mile Island plant in the United States had not affected the health of the people. Though the plant was damaged because of errors of commission or omission, radiation to the outside world was limited.

In Chernobyl, on the other hand, even the ordinary safety measures were not in force. The Chernobyl tragedy caused considerable damage to both man and nature. Yet, compared to atomic explosion, the extent of its impact was minimal.

There are as many as 430 live atomic plants in the world. Their life is estimated as 8,000 reactor years. Apart from Chernobyl and Fukushima no serious accident had taken place anywhere. This does not mean the safety of the reactors can be treated lightly. What is intended is that the issues should be looked at impassionately and based on facts.

We have to consider another thing also. Fossil fuels cause many a disease and many an accident that affect the human population adversely. According to studies made by the World Health Organisation, over three million people die every year because of the atmospheric pollution caused by the products of fossil fuels.

As pointed out earlier, natural radiation takes place around us every moment. Even the walls of our home are a source of radiation. The walls, floor and the roof emit gamma rays. Radon and Thoron, produced from the disintegration of Thorium, are present in the atmosphere. Thoron, a naturally occurring isotope of Radon present in indoor air, especially in closed rooms, is identified in a Canadian study as the second leading cause of lung cancer after tobacco smoking.

We need not disbelieve it when science points out that even the milk we give to our children has radiation potential. Milk is 200 times more radioactive than drinking water.

There are five regions that are subjected to high natural radiation. One of them is Kerala where there is extensive naural radiation from monocite. After Brazil, it is the coast of Kerala that experiences the highest dose of natural radiation in the world. Xinjiang in China, Orvieto in Italy and Ramsar in Iran are also areas prone to natural radiation.

Many studies have been undertaken on radiation hazards. Comparisons have also been made with accidents in other areas. One study reveals that one out of 200 daily smokers die of cancer every year. One out of 5,000 population die in road accidents, one out of 10,000 in domestic accidents and one out of 20,000 in accidents at the place of work. For those working in the nuclear power sector, the rate is one out of 20,000.

This does not mean all is well in the nuclear sector. But if we make use of nuclear energy at a permissible level, in a controlled manner, it can greatly benefit the society. It is an everlasting source of energy. What is important is how we make use of it.

There were two students at a seminary. One of them asked the priest one day whether it was right to smoke while praying.

Never, replied the priest.

Is it right to pray while smoking, asked the second novitiate.

It is always, always right, said the priest, smiling.

This is the difference in perception. If asked whether atomic power is good or bad, common people may say it is bad. The scientist’s reply may be different.