India gears up for the unexpected

KALPAKKAM: India is strengthening its nuclear disaster preparedness after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown and experts are preparing a strategy to ‘expect the unexpected’. Nuclear experts, officials of the National Disaster Management Authority, State Disaster Management Authority and Department of Atomic Energy discussed various eventualities, including an air attack on the nuclear facilities and a meltdown caused by natural calamities, at a workshop here on Tuesday and assessed the preparedness of the nuclear establishment and officials in countering the threat.According to Dr M C Abani, senior specialist (nuclear), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), after the Chernoboyl disaster, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) focused on having a disaster preparedness plan but after the Fukushima crisis in Japan, they had gone a step further to look beyond design preparedness.Interestingly, the workshop was held in the wake of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s direction to the Department of Atomic Energy and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board last month to upgrade safety measures at the nuclear facilities. J K Sinha, member of NDMA, said the Nuclear Incident Response System (IRS), which is based on the model of the United States, is structured to fit the Indian version. Stating the efficacy of the model to counter any disaster, he said multi-tasking could also be done under IRS. The objective of this model was to have a unified command, flexibility, accountability, proper resource management and common terminology. Sinha also stressed the need to have a trained civil defence volunteer for each village instead of a district official or a self help group member.B Bhattacharjee, member of NDMA and former director of Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, stressed the need to focus on capacity building and generating awareness among the community. He said the shelters that cannot adequately protect against radiation needed to be identified. Bhattacharjee also urged the district administration to ensure that houses facing the nuclear site did not have any opening that is not secured. “I will discuss it with my superiors so that it is factored into building approvals,” said Kancheepuram Collector S Sivashanmuga Raja. He said the district administration lacked equipment to monitor radiation.