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Fire at Indian plant; emergency declared

Nuclear Monitor Issue: 
#394
09/07/1993
Article

(July 9, 1993) In the early hours of 31 March a major fire broke out at the Narora Atomic Power Station (NAPS) in Uttar Pradesh, India.

(394.3848) WISE Amsterdam - Immediately, Narora officials asked the District Magistrate to arrange for 2000 vehicles to evacuate the residents of Anusakti Nagar, Narora. Unfortunately, Narora did not have the capacity to manage an evacuation of such a large magnitude. NAPS officials were told that such large numbers of automobiles could not be arranged so quickly. The villages and towns in Narora and neighboring Bulandshahar were kept completely in the dark about the situation. A veil of secrecy was dropped. Only plant officials and their families knew about the fire.

An emergency was declared at the plant that did not end until 10:45 A.M. on the following day. A power turbine connected to Unit I was completely destroyed. Guards of the Central Industrial Security Force and the local police were angry because of the inadequate fire-fighting equipment.

The computers recorded that Unit I had shut down automatically at 3:28 A.M. during what the Indian Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) later rated as a level 3 accident on the International Nuclear Event Scale. AEC officials said that there was no release of radioactive material. However, according to Pradip Datta of Safe Energy & Environment journal, what they did not say was that if the fire had spread another 200 meters, "Unit I would have blown up."

NAPS, according to the AEC, is the safest nuclear power plant in the country. It has two units with a capacity of 230 MW each and is situated in a seismic fault area of Bulandshahar on the banks of the Ganges river. For years, scientists have complained about bubbling on the outer containment walls of both units. Almost eight years ago Prof. Dhirendra Sharma (a well-known anti-nuclear expert) established with well documented evidence that the technology to be adapted to NAPS was less than satisfactory and dangerous. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) ignored his arguments and all other opposition. In October 1991, when an earthquake devastated Uttarkashi (an area near Narora), the plant was automatically shut down as the built-in shock absorbers prevented any damage to the structure. The then Chairman of the AEC claimed that the reactor was so safe that people could take shelter in it during earthquakes.

Source and contact: Pradip Datta, 28, Nazrul Park, P0 Aswininagar, Calcutta 700059, India.