*‘No mechanism to cope with nuclear accident’ * *Date:17/09/2009* *URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/09/17/stories/2009091756290400.htm* Special Correspondent
*‘Authorities of Koodankulam plant violating safety regulations’ * ------------------------------ * Rally in New Delhi on October 2 ‘India becoming dumping ground for obsolete nuclear technology’ * ------------------------------ Thiruvananthapuram: The People’s Movement against Nuclear Energy alleged here on Wednesday that the district administration in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha were not equipped to cope with an accident at the Koodankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu. Addressing a press conference here, coordinator of the movement S.P. Udayakumar and leaders of various member organisations said the authorities had failed to conduct safety drills or share evacuation plans with the residents in the seven districts likely to be affected by an accident. “They maintain that no accident will occur at the Koodankulam nuclear power plant. Even the Environmental Impact Assessment report, safety analysis report and site evaluation study have not been revealed to the public in the two States”. Mr. Udayakumar said a series of mild tremors in the neighbourhood of the nuclear plant and other places in the Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts in the recent past had created panic among the people. “There has been no effort to allay their fears.” He alleged that the authorities at the Koodankulam plant were violating the prescribed safety regulations in transport of radioactive material. “Nuclear fuel rods and uranium are brought to the Thiruvananthapuram airport like ordinary cargo and transported to Koodankulam by road without any warning or advance information to the people on the movement of radioactive material.” Mr. Udayakumar said India was becoming a dumping ground for obsolete nuclear technology peddled by other nations. “The U.S. has not built a nuclear power plant for the last 30 years while Russia stopped making new nuclear power plants since the Chernobyl accident. They are now trying to dump their technology on developing nations.” State president of the Kerala Swathantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF) T. Peter said the Koodankulam nuclear power complex would pollute the near shore waters, leading to the mass migration of fish. This, he said, would pose a new threat to the traditional fishermen community, already reeling under several crises. Mr. Peter said the coastal communities were living in fear of diseases caused by radioactive contamination. “The Three Mile Island accident in the U.S. and the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine are not just a memory but a living reality for people suffering from various health problems and birth disorders,” Mr. Udayakumar pointed out. The People’s Movement against Nuclear Energy will take out a rally in New Delhi on October 2, Gandhi Jayanthi, to voice protest against the power plant. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
