Though parts of Kancheepuram district have been severely hit by floods, nuclear installations at Kalpakkam have remained safe, a senior official said.
The nuclear complex at Kalpakkam, located some 80 km south of Chennai, houses two units of the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) and the under-construction Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR). “MAPS is completely safe. One unit is operating at rated power. The other unit is under planned shutdown for biennial maintenance,” Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL)’s Executive Director Nalinish Nagaich told The Hindu .
Chairman and Managing Director of Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (BHAVINI), which is constructing the FBR, P. Chellapandi said, “Though there is water logging near some administrative buildings, there is no water around the FBR.”
Asked whether any work was affected in BHAVINI, he said since only one third of the contract employees were present and the remaining could not come for work, work has been suspended.
“We hope we get the entire manpower in three to four days.”
Nuclear waste
Replying to a query on the safety of nuclear waste stored in the complex, he said the waste was stored in canisters in the form of glass so that they don’t dissolve in water.
‘Though there is water logging near administrative buildings, there is no water around the FBR’
