Nuclear safety matter of highest priority: Security panel

In the backdrop of the ongoing agitation against nuclear power at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu and several other areas of the country, the Union Cabinet’s Committee on Security has reiterated that the safety of nuclear power plants is “a matter of the highest priority” for the government.

The panel, which reviewed the safety of nuclear power plants at a meeting here on Thursday, said the government had decided to invite an operational safety review team of the International Atomic Energy Agency to assist the nuclear establishment in conducting safety reviews and audits of the nuclear installations in different parts of the country.

Mechanisms for responding to nuclear and radiological emergencies were being strengthened in coordination with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), including the setting up of additional emergency response centres, and the NDMA had drawn up various actions for emergency preparedness.

Chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the meeting also reviewed the action taken following a radiation incident at Mayapuri in Delhi in April 2010, including raising of awareness, registry of all radioactive sources, radiation checks on incoming metal scrap, installation of radiation detection equipment at the borders, enhanced inspections, and strengthening of the regulatory capabilities.

The review assumes significance in the wake of the sharpened public protest against nuclear installations following the nuclear accident at Fukushima, Japan, in March.