Periodic safety drill conducted at Kalpakkam nuclear power plant

Authorities in Kalpakkam conducted a security and safety drill around the nuclear power facility.

Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), Aug 25 : Authorities in Kalpakkam conducted a security and safety drill around the nuclear power facility.

The plant is situated on the eastern coast, about 80 kilometers from Chennai.

The drill was jointly conducted by the Kancheepuram District Administration and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to check the disaster preparedness of the workers and residents living in the vicinity of the nuclear facility, which currently produces 155MW electricity.

"This offsite emergency is basically conducted to make the people aware of their roles and responsibilities in case of a very highly unlikely event of an incident in a nuclear power plant. We bring them to the station and make them aware of the complete operations of the plant and also teach them how exactly they have to conduct themselves during a real emergency. It is conducted as a statutory thing every two years," said, S. Krishnamoorthy, Director of the Kalpakkam Atomic Power Station.

National Disaster Management Authority officials were also present during the biannual exercise.

Tamil Nadu Government officials, including those from the departments of medical, paramedical, fire service, police, state transport, animal husbandry, fisheries, forest and civil supplies, were familiarized about the precautionary measures and various emergency situations.

The last exercise took place in July 2005.

The high-security facility houses two power reactors, a prototype test reactor and Kamini, a mini reactor for research, an enrichment and reprocessing plant and storage facilities.

This campus will soon also house four indigenously designed Fast Breeder Reactors (FBR), being built by the Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (Bhavini - Indian Nuclear Power Corporation Limited), the public sector arm of the DAE.

India has 12 nuclear plants that produce 2,770 MW nuclear energy and have a good safety track record.

Nuclear power constitutes approximately 2.5 percent of India's installed generation capacity of about 100,000 megawatts.

ANI