Dear Friends,
The Protest Petition to the President of India against New Uranium Mining and
Nuclear Power Plants, as reproduced below, was faxed to the addressees viz. the
President of India, Prime Minister of India and also the Minister of
Environment & Forests Jan. 30th - the Martyrs' Day.Today the hard copies along
with list of signatories have been handed over.
The petition is hosted online at
<http://www.petitiononline.com/Nonukes/petition.html>. It has been signed by
more than half a thousand concerned citizens. (On consideration of space, the
list of signatories is not attached here. However, available at
<http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?Nonukes>.)
Ramesh Sharmaon behalf of the National Alliance of Anti-nuclear Movements Feb.
01 2010
To: The President of India; with copies to the Prime Minister and Minister of
Environment & ForestsTo
Smt. Pratibha Patil,
The President of India,
Rashtrapati Bhavan,
New Delhi – 110 001.
Copy to:
Sri Manmohan Singh,
The Prime Minister of India,
New Delhi – 110 001.
Sri Jairam Ramesh,
The Minister of Environment & Forests,
New Delhi – 110 001.
Subject: Protest against New Uranium Mining and Nuclear Power Plants
Madam,
We are writing to you on behalf of the National Alliance of Anti-nuclear
Movements.
It is to protest against the reported decision of the government of India to
take a quantum leap in installed capacity for nuclear power generation, from
the current level of 4,120 MW to 63,000 MW by 2032. This decision is but an
invitation to disaster.
In this context, we will like to submit the following.
Nuclear power, contrary to orchestrated hypes, is actually costlier than power
from conventional sources like coal, gas and hydro. And once all the hidden
costs are factored in, it would be costlier than even from renewable sources,
like wind, in particular.
More importantly, it is also intrinsically hazardous, as large amount of
radiation is routinely released at every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle. An
even more intractable problem is that of safe storage of nuclear waste and safe
disposal of outlived power plants, given the fact that the half-lives of some
of the radioactive substances involved are over even millions of years.
Even more disconcerting is, considering the complexity of the technology of a
nuclear reactor; there is no way to ensure that a major accident at a nuclear
power plant will never take place. And a major accident, given the nature of
things, will just turn catastrophic affecting a very large number of people,
over a large territory, over a very long period. The disastrous accident at the
Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in the Ukraine province of the then USSR, on
April 26 1986 is a chilling illustration.
The promise of nil greenhouse gas (GHG) emission is also nothing more than a
myth if the entire fuel cycle – including mining, milling, transportation and
construction of the power plant – is considered.
Moreover, nuclear energy with its highly centralized power production model
would only further aggravate the problem by accentuating the current
development paradigm reliant on mega-industries and actively blocking any
possibility towards ecologically benign decentralized development.
The strong linkage between nuclear power and weapons – in terms of large
overlaps in technology, in turn triggering strong political push – of which
India itself is a graphic illustration can also be overlooked only at our own
peril given the genocidal, and suicidal, character of the nuclear weapon.
As nuclear power is economically unattractive and socially unacceptable, on
account of radiation hazards and risks of catastrophic accidents, no order for
new nuclear reactors was placed in the USA and most of West Europe during the
last 30 years, since the Three Mile Island accident in the US in 1979.
The US and European companies in nuclear power plant equipment and nuclear fuel
business are thus looking to Asia for markets – India, China and Japan
spearheading the current expansion programme.
It is unfortunate that the Indian government is becoming their willing
collaborator in this in pursuit of its megalomaniac hunt for nuclear power and
weapon. It has thus, over a period of just one year, rushed to enter into
agreements with as many as seven countries, viz. the US, France, Russia,
Kazakhstan, Namibia, Mongolia and Argentina.
So far, nuclear power production capacity in India is very small, only about 3
percent of the total electricity generation capacity; and the veil of secrecy
surrounding the existing nuclear power plants in the country, and absence of
any truly independent monitoring agency, has seriously hindered dissemination
of information on accidents – large and small – at these plants and their
public scrutiny. That explains the current low level of popular awareness as
regards the grave threats posed by the nuclear industry.
Taking advantage of this, the government of India is now set to steamroll its
massive expansion program.
The contention that nuclear power is indispensable to meet future energy needs
is false; for energy demand, and “need”, is obviously a function of the
development paradigm chosen and pursued. And “energy security” is not an
autonomous entity or objective, but must be in alignment with other chosen
objectives which must include equitable growth and concerns for ecology.
Viewed thus, “energy security” may be achieved by: (I) Increasing efficiency of
electricity generation, transmission and distribution. (II) Doing away with
extravagant and wasteful use of energy. (III) Pursuing a path of low-energy
intensity and decentralised development. (IV) Making optimum use of alternative
energy options. (IV) Radically raising investment in development of sustainable
and renewable energy sources and technologies, especially wind and solar
energy.
As a part of its expansion program, the government of India has announced plans
to expand the nuclear power plant coming up at Koodankulam (Tamil Nadu).
Additional four reactors from Russia of 1,200 MWe each, in the immediate or
near future, are to come up over and above the two of 950 MWe each, presently
under construction. The process for setting up a nuclear plant at Jaitapur
(Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra) has also reached an advanced stage. The
French company Areva is set to supply two new generation reactors of 1650 MWe
each, to be followed by another two. Land acquisition notices have been served
on the local people to acquire 981 hectare of land.
The government has reportedly already approved 15 new plants at eight sites.
These sites are Kumharia in Haryana – meant for indigenous reactors; Kakrapar
(indigenous reactors) and Chhayamithi Virdi (reactor from US) in Gujarat;
Kovvada (reactor from US) in Andhra Pradesh; Haripur (reactor from Russia) in
West Bengal; Koodankulam (reactor from Russia) in Tamil Nadu; and Jaitapur
(reactor from France) in Maharashtra.
Similarly, the mad rush for more and more power plants is matched by an
accelerated drive for uranium mining in newer areas: Andhra and Meghalaya, in
particular. And this, despite the horrible experience of uranium mines in
different parts of the world, as also in our own Jadugoda – where appalling
conditions continue despite strong popular protests, spanning decades.
In view of all these facts enumerated above, we the undersigned demand that the
government of India put a complete stop to the construction of all new uranium
mines and nuclear power plants, and radically jack up investments in renewable
and environmentally sustainable sources of energy.
We also earnestly urge you to intervene immediately.
Sincerely,
Peace Is Doable
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