GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 467 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28/07/2010

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1 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 467 TO BE ED ON 28/07/2010 PROPOSAL TO SET UP NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS 467 SHRI S. PAKKIRAPPA: SHRI AHIR VIKRAMBHAI ARJANBHAI MAADAM: the number of nuclear power plants proposed to be set up during the current five year plan period; the investment expected to be made in each of plants during the above period; the locations where the nuclear plants would be set up indicating expected production capacity, plant-wise; and the time by which such nuclear plants would start producing power? In addition to three nuclear power plants (2720 MW) under advanced stage of completion and two plants (2800 MW) on which work has been just launched, the Mid Term Appraisal of the XI plan envisages commencement of work on six plants during the current plan. & The details are as follows Location District / State Capacity (MW) Outlay in XI Plan (` in Crore) Tirunelveli, Tamilnadu 2 X Ratnagiri, Maharashtra 2 X Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh 2 X 1000 * 851 Bhavnagar, Gujarat 2 X 1000 * 850 Fatehabad, Haryana 2 X Mandla, Madhya Pradesh 2 X * Nominal capacity The plants will start producing power in about six years from start of work. *******

2 527. SHRI PRADEEP MAJHI: GOVERNMENT OF INDIA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 527 TO BE ED ON 28/07/2010 CENTRE FOR RADIO ECOLOGY whether the Government proposes to set up Centre for Radio Ecology; if so, the details of the funds allocated and expenditure incurred so far in setting up of said Centre; whether the progress of work of this Centre is going as per the schedule; if so, the details in this regard; and if not, the reasons therefor and the remedial measures taken by the Government in this regard? Yes, Sir. The Radio-ecology Center is being established at Guru Jhambeshwar University of Science & Technology (GJUST) at Hisar, Haryana. Funds to the extent of `4.62 crore is allocated and an expenditure of `30.00 lakh has been incurred so far. Yes, Sir. Equipment have been purchased, laboratory has been constructed, and Junior Research Fellows have been recruited for this centre. Does not arise, in view of above. *******

3 546 SHRI P.T. THOMAS: GOVERNMENT OF INDIA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 546 TO BE ED ON 28/07/2010 ASSESSMENT OF NUCLEAR WASTE whether the Government has recently assessed the quantity of nuclear waste likely to be generated by the nuclear power plants in the country; if so, the details thereof, Plant-wise and State-wise; and the manner in which the Government proposes to dispose of this waste? SCIENCES (INDEPENDENT CHARGE), PMO, PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS. to The wastes generated at the nuclear power stations during their operation are of low & intermediate activity level and are managed at the site itself. These wastes are treated, concentrated, compacted, immobilized in solid materials like cement, bitumen, polymers etc. and stored in specially constructed structures such as reinforced concrete trenches and tile holes, located at the site. Such facilities are located at all the nuclear power stations viz. Tarapur (Maharashtra), Rawatbhata (Rajasthan), Kalpakkam (Tamilnadu), Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Kakrapar (Gujarat) and Kaiga (Karnataka). The waste to be stored at site during the life time including decommissioning is within 0.15 cubic meters/year/mw. Spent nuclear fuel from unsafeguarded reactors is sent back to BARC for reprocessing and for management of high level (radioactive) waste. High level waste is vitrified into a glassy form, contained in multiple barrier containers and stored for an interim period of three to four decades in engineered vaults with necessary surveillance facilities. After cooling down in these storage facilities, waste containers will be stored for long term in deep geological repositories. ********

4 547. SHRI SANJAY SINGH CHAUHAN: SHRIMATI ANNU TANDON: SHRI NEERAJ SHEKHAR: GOVERNMENT OF INDIA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 547 TO BE ED ON 28/07/2010 AGREEMENT WITH CANADA whether the Government has signed any civil nuclear agreements with Canada for supply of uranium and transfer of reprocessing technology; if so, the details thereof and terms and conditions of the agreements; the fields in which the uranium and such technology are likely to be utilized; and the time by which a final agreement under the said pact is likely to be done? to The Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Canada for Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy has been signed on 27 June The Agreement has not yet entered into force. ******

5 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 563 TO BE ED ON 28/07/2010 INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN NUCLEAR FIELD 563 SHRI HANSRAJ G. AHIR: whether the Government has received any requests from foreign companies including American Companies for initiating civil nuclear energy trade agreements with Indian companies; and if so, the details of such companies, country-wise? & The Government has signed Inter-Governmental Agreements / Memorandum of Understanding/Joint Declaration for cooperation in nuclear energy with Canada, France, Mongolia, Namibia, Russia, UK and USA. Indian companies are now in a position to establish contacts with foreign companies in the area of civil nuclear cooperation. Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) is currently engaged in discussions with Atomstryexport (ASE) of Russian Federation, AREVA of France, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) & Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC) of the USA on setting up Light Water Reactors (LWRs) based on technical cooperation. *******

6 573 SHRI A.T. NANA PATIL: GOVERNMENT OF INDIA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 573 TO BE ED ON 28/07/2010 INDO-JAPAN CIVIL NUCLEAR AGREEMENT whether the Indo-Japan civil nuclear agreement has been recently signed; if so, the salient features of the agreement; whether the Japan has agreed to transfer nuclear technology to India; if so, the details thereof; and the steps being taken by the Government to strengthen the co-operation with Japan? (f) No Sir. does not arise. No Sir. does not arise. The first round of formal negotiations between India and Japan on civil nuclear cooperation Inter-Governmental Agreement was held in Tokyo on June *******

7 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 588 TO BE ED ON 28/07/2010 RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL 588 PROF. (DR.) RANJAN PRASAD YADAV: whether any regulations exist for installing, operating, transporting or decommissioning radioactive materials/ devices in the country; if so, the details thereof; and the steps taken to avoid Cobalt-60 pencils like incidents at Mayapuri in future? Yes, Sir. Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules, 2004 and Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987 promulgated under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and Safety Standards, Codes published by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) made thereunder provide necessary frame work of regulations pertaining to installation, operation, decommissioning, disposal and transport of devices containing radioactive material. Several actions have been taken by AERB and other Government agencies to prevent incidents like Mayapuri. Some of the steps taken are: i. Installation of Radiological Detection Equipments (RDEs) at entry/exit of airports, sea-ports, inland container depots and other land ports. 2

8 -2- ii. iii. iv. Further efforts to bring legacy sources (which may have been in existence from periods when regulatory controls were still in the evolving stage) under regulatory control by scanning old records. Updating the inventory of sources based on inputs from various Government departments/agencies, source suppliers, response to advertisement issued in newspapers, etc. Increase in the number of awareness programmes pertaining to radiation safety in various areas in the country. Members of scrap association have been sensitized to monitor scrap for radiation. On May 6, 2010 AERB organized an awareness programme for scrap dealers and workers of Mayapuri scrap market. In this program, more than 150 participants were familiarized with the use of radiation monitors. v. The requirement of pre-shipment inspection certificate for consignments imported to India declaring that they do not contain any type of hazardous, toxic waste, radioactive contaminated waste has been notified. vi. Enhanced regulatory control by increasing frequency of inspection and establishment of Regional Centres of AERB. ******

9 590 SHRI M.B. RAJESH: SHRI RAKESH SINGH: GOVERNMENT OF INDIA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 590 TO BE ED ON 28/07/2010 DISPOSAL OF NUCLEAR WASTES (f) whether adequate arrangements have been made for the disposal of nuclear wastes from hospitals, research establishments and other sources in the country; if so, the details thereof; whether norms have been found to be over looked in the case of the incident of radiation emission from a scrap shop in Delhi recently; if so, the details thereof; whether the Government has taken any steps to check recurrence of such incidents in the country; and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? Yes, sir. The radioactive wastes generated from the hospitals, research establishments and other institutions are safely disposed off as per provisions of Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules, The radioactive sources used in these establishments are either sealed sources such as those used for radiotherapy or unsealed sources such as those used in nuclear medicine. As per the requirement of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), the sealed sources after they become unusable, have to be returned to the original supplier for disposal. For transport of these sources from user to 2

10 -2- supplier, authorization from AERB is needed to ensure safety during transport. Once the transport is complete it is necessary to inform AERB. In some cases, particularly when the source has been supplied long ago by a foreign supplier, it may not be possible to return it as required. In such cases, AERB helps the user for disposal of the source to an authorized waste management agency. The unsealed sources used in medicine and research are mostly in liquid form, have short half-life and are used in small quantities. These sources after their use, are disposed off either by dilution and dispersion or are stored till their activity decays to an acceptable level for discharge. Unsealed sources with longer half-life need special attention for their disposal after use. Wastes containing such sources are diluted to levels below the authorized limits for disposal and discharged to the environment. In all the above cases, authorization for disposal is required to be obtained from AERB as per the aforesaid rules. (f) Yes, sir. The incident was caused by the unauthorized disposal of the gamma cell by Delhi University as scrap which violates the Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Waste) Rules and Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules. Yes, sir. Several actions have been taken by AERB and DAE as well as other departments and ministries to prevent incidents like Mayapuri. Some of the steps taken are : Installation of radiation detection systems at entry/exit of airports, sea-ports, inland container depots and other land ports. Further efforts to bring legacy sources (which may have been in existence from periods when regulatory controls were still in the evolving stage) under regulatory control by scanning old records. 3

11 -3- Updating the inventory of sources based on inputs from : o Ministry of HRD / UGC o Ministry of Health o Ministry of Industries o Coal Authority of India Ltd. o Oil and Natural Gas Commission o Source suppliers and o Response to advertisements issued in newspapers Increase in the number of awareness programmes pertaining to radiation safety in various areas in the country. Members of scrap association have been sensitized to monitor the scrap for radiation. On May 6, 2010 AERB organized an awareness programme for scrap dealers and workers of Mayapuri scrap market. In this program, more than 150 participants were familiarized with the use of radiation monitors. The requirement of pre-shipment inspection certificate for consignments imported to India declaring that they do not contain any type of hazardous, toxic waste, radioactive contaminated waste has been notified by concerned ministry. Enhanced regulatory contr ol by increasing frequency of inspections and establishment of Regional Centres by AERB. *********

12 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 616 TO BE ED ON 28/07/2010 CONTRIBUTION OF ATOMIC ENERGY IN GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY 616 SHRI BAL KUMAR PATEL: SHRI HARISHCHANDRA CHAVAN: whether the contribution of atomic energy is very less in the total generation of electricity in the country; if so, the reasons therefor and the position of India in generation of atomic energy as compared to the other countries of the world; whether the generation capacity of the atomic energy plants is less in the country; and if so, the reasons therefor and the steps taken by the Government to increase the generation of atomic energy in the country? The share of nuclear power in the total electricity generation in the country is about 2.6%. The lower share of nuclear power is on account of relatively small capacity base of 4,560 MW of the total installed capacity of 1,62,366 MW. The share of nuclear generation in some other countries in the world is: France 75%, Korea 35%, Japan 29%, Germany 26%, USA 20%, Russian Federation 18% and China 2%. Yes, Sir. The nuclear power capacity of 4560 MW is expected to reach 7280 MW by 2012 and MW by 2017 with the progressive completion of projects under construction. More projects are also planned in future to increase the nuclear power capacity. ******

13 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.617 TO BE ED ON 28/07/ SHRIMATI MANEKA GANDHI: DELAY IN KUDANKULAM POWER PLANT whether there is delay in commercial operation of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu; if so, the reasons for the delay; whether delay in delivering critical components by Russia is one of the main reasons; if so, the actual cost overrun of the project; and the time by which the plant is likely to be made operational? Yes, Sir. The project design is a first-of-its-kind improved version. The design evolution in parallel with construction resulted in late ordering of manufacturing and supply of equipment. Major equipment/components for the project are to be supplied by Russian Federation. There has been a delay in sequential supply of some of the equipment affecting the project construction schedule. Yes, Sir. Revised cost estimates are being worked out. The effort is to complete Unit 1 during the last quarter of the current year followed by second unit completion in about six months time. *****

14 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 680 TO BE ED ON 28/07/2010 INSTALLATION OF RADIATION MONITOR PORTAL AT PORTS 680. SHRI BAIJAYANT JAY PANDA: SHRI NITYANANDA PRADHAN: whether the Government proposes to install radiation monitor portals at all the ports and entry points in the country; if so, the details thereof; whether the Government has prepared any action plan to check junk metal lying in various scrap markets in the country especially in the national capital city to ward off any incident of radiation leak; if so, the details thereof; and the time by which the action plan is likely to be implemented? Yes, Sir. There is a proposal to install Radiological Detection Equipments (RDEs) at entry/exit points of the country. The Ministry of Home Affairs is coordinating this activity. Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) has plans to supply radiation portal monitors. Yes, Sir. The installations of radiation portal monitors are planned at entry and exit ports of the country to prevent any inadvertent radioactive material reaching scrap markets or steel foundries. The above measures are already being implemented. *********