Kaiga is a nuclear power station situated at Kaiga in Uttar Kannada district in Karnataka, India. The plant has been in operation since March 2000 and is operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. It has four units with one still under construction. The two oldest units comprise the west half of the site and the two newer units are adjoining the east side of the site. All of the four are small-sized Candu plants of 220 MW. Goa to Kaiga by road is 132.0 km (takes about 2 hrs, 14 mins).
* * * Panic over nuke leak as Kaiga workers fall ill M Raghuram / DNA Sunday, November 29, 2009 0:35 IST Mangalore: Panic hit Karwar and some coastal areas on Friday after 40 maintenance personnel from the Kaiga nuclear plant were rushed to a Mallapuram hospital with symptoms of radioactive poisoning. The 40 people, who were working at unit no. 1 of the plant were rushed to the Kaiga nuclear corporation hospital where they were kept under observation. Although hospital authorities have denied the reports of radioactive poisoning and said that they have cleared the staff, sources told DNA that out of the 40 taken to the hospital only six of them have been discharged and one person had been tested for severe level of radioactivity. Director of nuclear power corporation Dr Nageshwar Rao and an elite panel of seven nuclear experts from the atomic energy regulatory board of India have rushed to the spot along with some safety experts. One expert told DNA that the panel will investigate the incident, especially the report of an alleged leakage of Tritium from the plant. The plant has been shut down immediately. Tritium is a hydrogen isotope and is an essential element required for the production of atom bombs. What's really worrying is the fact that the western coast of India is on the terror radar and is very vulnerable to any kind of attack. The panel however played down the reports of any leak. "There was no leakage as made out by the media reports. The contamination had no connection with the reactor. Those who were looking after the pipeline had released some vapour and some heavy water during a maintenance work. Their urine samples have been tested. There were no traces of radioactivity. However, there were some who drank water from a cooler kept near the maintenance area. Very mild contamination levels were found in them," officials at the Kaiga plant told DNA. "There was absolutely no danger of any leakage or further contamination in the plant site," they added. Rao, who is heading the probe panel, refused to talk. Deputy commissioner of Uttara Kannada Chennappa Gowda told DNA that everything was under control. Tests are being conducted in the Kaiga area as a matter of precaution. About 60 people were working at the site when the accident happened. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_panic-over-nuke-leak-as-kaiga-workers-fall-ill_1317821 * * * Contamination at Kaiga nuclear power unit likely "act of mischief": NPCIL NetIndian News Network Delhi, November 29, 2009 The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) today said the radiation contamination of a water cooler at the Kaiga Atomic Power Station in Karnataka was possibly an "act of mischief" and did not involve any radioactivity releases or security breach. NPCIL Chairman and Managing S K Jain said in a statement that the related agencies were investigating the matter. As already reported in the media today, tritium contamination of some of the radiation workers was indicated by their routine bioassay last week, raising concerns about the safety of the plant. NPCIL did not give details about the number of workers affected, but media reports put it at 45. NPCIL had said yesterday that a thorough survey of the plant areas did not indicate any heavy water leak from any of the reactor systems and the general radiological conditions were found to be normal in the plant areas, indicating that the tritium uptake was due to drinking of water from one of the water coolers, which was found to be contaminated. It said the cooler was isolated and put out of use. According to Dr Jain, the contamination of the water cooler was a matter of concern and the cause was being investigated. "Preliminary inquiry does not reveal any violation of operating procedures or radioactivity releases or security breach. It is possibly an act of mischief. The related agencies are investigating," he said. The Kaiga plant has four units of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors of 220 MWe each. The first three units have been commissioned and are operational, while the fourth is currently being constructed. The Unit-1 is in biennial shutdown for routine maintenance works since October 20, while the Units 2 and 3 are operating normally. "All the systems of all the units are healthy and there is no release of radioactivity to the environment within the plant site and outside," Dr Jain said. He said that a number of measures for routine monitoring of radio uptake in workers were in place at the plant, one of which was routine urine sampling. According to him, in this process, some samples indicated signs of contamination. After this observation on November 24, samples of all the radiation workers were analysed. "All plant systems are working normally and cannot cause any contamination. The source of radiation contamination was identified to be a water cooler located outside the reactor building," he said. Dr Jain said that any contamination caused by Heavy Water inside the human body was quickly flushed out through natural biological processes like urination and perspiration. These processes could be hastened through simple medication, he said. "The contamination detected in this incident has been brought down quickly and currently one worker is close to the limit specified by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)," he said. He pointed out that the AERB limit was one of the most stringent in the world. "No worker is hospitalised. All workers are carrying out their duties. The radiation workers of the plant are highly experienced, access permits are routinely issued to all personnel entering the operating island and the computerised access control system has a record of all the personnel who have entered the operating island," the statement said. Dr Jain said NPCIL had a very high level of safety compliance and the limits of regulatory authorities were strictly complied with. Prompt notification, as required by the procedures, was issued, he added. NPCIL had said yesterday that the incident had not in any way affected public safety, health and the environment. http://netindian.in/news/2009/11/29/0004206/contamination-kaiga-nuclear-power-unit-likely-act-mischief-npcil * * * India nuclear plant leak under investigation Indian officials are investigating the leak of a radioactive substance into drinking water at an atomic power plant in the south of the country. Fifty-five workers at the Kaiga plant needed medical treatment for excessive exposure to radiation after tritium contaminated a water cooler. Officials said the leak might have been deliberate. "Mischief is not ruled out. Investigations are on," plant director J P Gupta told Reuters news agency. The 55 workers had returned to their duties at the plant, Mr Gupta added. "This incident has in no way affected the public, safety, health and environment." The highly protected Kaiga plant is on the west coast of India, 450km (280 miles) from Bangalore. Tritium, also known as Hydrogen-3, is used in research, fusion reactors and neutron generators. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8384894.stm * * * Radiation leak is a 'malevolent' act, says Anil Kakodkar STAFF WRITER 12:15 HRS IST Mumbai/Kaiga, Nov 29 (PTI) In a case of sabotage, Atomic Energy Commission chief Anil Kakodkar today said somebody "deliberately" put radioactive tritium in a water cooler at the Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant that exposed about 50 workers to increased level of radiation. People involved will be punished under the Atomic Energy and other acts after investigation, he said. "Somebody deliberately put the tritiated water vials into a drinking water cooler. Therefore, we are investigating who is behind the malevolent act," he told PTI in Mumbai. About 45 to 50 employees working in the first maintenance unit of the Kaiga plant in Uttara Kannada district were treated at the plant hospital in Mallapur for increased level of tritium after they drank water from a cooler in the operating area on November 24, official sources told PTI. Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, is used in research, fusion reactors and neutron generators. http://www.ptinews.com/news/399044_Radiation-leak-is-a--malevolent--act--says-Anil-Kakodkar * * * Kaiga incident is not a nuclear leak: Prithviraj Chavan By Shreeraj Gudi New Delhi / Karwar, Nov 29 - ANI: Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Singh Chavan said here on Sunday that the Kaiga incident is not a nuclear leak and assured that all Nuclear plants in India are safe. Briefing the media here, Chavan said: The Kaiga incident is an act by a disgruntled employee. He mixed a small unit of heavy water (D20), in a water cooler. And all those who drank water from that particular water cooler were tested a little high level of radiation effects. He said, he had discussions with Atomic Energy Commission chief Anil Kakodkar and assured that it is not an incident of nuclear leakage. Chavan also said the government will take the incident very seriously and a high level inquiry will be initiated. Prima-facie, it looks like an employee did it just to grab media attention and register a protest against the management. But we will initiate ahigh level inquiry, Chavan said. Commenting over the Kaiga plant facing repeated threats, Chavan said: It was a purely an act by a person who is accessed to the plant, but we will investigate influence of other elements on the employees. The Nuclear Power Corporation has initiated an internal inquiry into the incident. Senior scientists are conducting tests in and around the Kaiga township, to ascertain the effect of radiation. Karwar District Police clarified that no report has been registered over the incident. Karwar Superintendent of Police Raman Gupta said: The Nuclear Power Corporation authorities have not requested the local police to involve in the investigations and no report was filed with the police. If they contact us, then we will initiate the investigation, he added. The local police are not capable of handling the issues like radiation, I think the scientists will investigate first, Gupta said. District Commissioner Chhannappa Gowda informed that only one person was tested for high level of radioactive reactions and all the others were at normal level. He also clarified that no one was hospitalised in the incident and were treated at out patient department in Mallapur Hospital. - ANI http://www.littleabout.com/news/47295,kaiga-incident-nuclear-leak-prithviraj-chavan.html
