Leaky valves almost shutdown Tarapur N-plant in 1973: Report

New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) Leaky valves and malfunctioning
of pumps and fuel bundles had almost shutdown one of India's
first nuclear reactors at Tarapur in 1973, a news magazine has
claimed.
"In September 1973, the inevitable happened. The
malfunctioning of pumps, valves and fuel bundles at TAPS
(Tarapur Atomic Power Station) led to the radioactive levels
rising far greater than those laid down by the International
Commission for Radiation Protection," The Week news magazine
reported.
The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had summoned Atomic
Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Homi Sethna and Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre (BARC) Director Raja Ramanna to convey her
"acute concerns" on the matter.
"Eminent scientists, both pleaded with her not to
pronounce what would have been a death sentence on the
credibility of the country's nuclear programme," the report
said quoting Ashok Parthsarathi, then the Scientific Assistant
to Gandhi.
Gandhi relented but not before taking the nuclear
establishment to task and ordering them to set things right.
"The Centre launched a secret operation to ensure
contaminated fish caught from Tarapur did not reach the
market. The government compensated the fishermen for the loss;
fishermen affected by radiation were treated secretly," it
said.
The Department of Atomic Energy launched a massive effort
to contain and rectify the continuing damage within TAPS and
the plants remained closed till the problems were completely
rectified. PTI SKU
MYR