Fears about devastating radioactive fallout from an accident in the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu persist in Sri Lanka, The New Indian Express said.

This fear persists despite the good report that the nuclear safety regime in India had got from the Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in March.

Although the Sirisena government has not raised the issue with India, unlike the Rajapaksa regime, the Lankan media and the public continue to see the controversy-ridden Koodankulam plant as a threat to Lanka because it is only 273 km from the Lanka’s coast.

Recent media reports have pointed out that India has refused to allow Lankans to inspect the KKNPP, and enter into a bilateral treaty to provide compensation in case of an accident in the plant.

India has been insisting that Koodankulam unit is safe and that in case of a mishap, Lanka will be compensated as per the IAEA Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damages which had been signed by India.

However, Sri Lankans point out that India has not signed the 1997 Vienna Convention on Civil Nuclear Liability and has not “ratified” the Convention on Supplementary Compensation.

Indians draw attention to the fact that many countries have not signed the Vienna Convention. “Nuclear treaties are tricky affairs,” an official said. As for the Convention of Supplementary Compensation, India will definitely ratify it.

On the whole, the Indian stand is that it is within India’s sovereign right to locate its nuclear plants wherever it likes within its borders.

An IAEA release of March 27, quoted the leader of the IRRS team, Ramzi Jammal, as saying that his team saw in India, a “strong commitment to safety.”

“India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board is an experienced, knowledgeable and dedicated regulatory body for the protection of the public and the environment. It continues to enhance its regulatory programme to face the current and future challenges in regulating nuclear safety, such as reinforcing the safety of existing nuclear facilities, monitoring ageing and decommissioning, as well as providing oversight of the construction, commissioning and operation of new nuclear power plants,” Jammal said.

India has 21 operating nuclear power reactors and seven under construction.
(With inputs from The New Indian Express)