Ahead of the arrival of an American nuclear trade mission in India this week, a senior US administration official reiterated that India’s nuclear liability law was not in line with the international nuclear liability principles reflected in the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage.
Speaking in Washington, DC, the US State Department’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Geoffrey Pyatt said, “Current liability law and regulations impose the risk of a heavy financial burden on equipment suppliers seeking to enter the Indian market and expose such companies to the risk of significant financial penalty in the event of a nuclear accident, neither of which is consistent with international standards.”
Pyatt, who will join the trade mission organised by the US- India Business Council and the Nuclear Energy Institute, identified India’s nuclear liability law as a “major challenge” and said American companies would find it difficult to participate in India’s nuclear power expansion plans without legislation consistent with the Convention. He was speaking at the Pillsbury NEI Nuclear Export Controls Seminar in the US capital.
‘Consult IAEA’
The official advised India to consult with the International Atomic Energy Agency to move into the “international mainstream of civil nuclear commerce”. Pyatt said the US wanted to ensure equal opportunities for American companies to conduct nuclear commerce in India, as well as to preserve safety standards.
In his speech, Pyatt also welcomed news of the expected commissioning of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in December in the face of “formidable domestic hurdles”, noting it would be critical in addressing Tamil Nadu’s crippling power shortage.
Acknowledging the debate over safety of nuclear power, especially in the light of the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima reactor following last year’s earthquake and tsunami, Pyatt insisted nuclear power was one of the “safest and cleanest forms of energy, compared with other sources” and stated, “Simply put, fear of nuclear power is out of proportion to the actual risks.”
He added the US remained committed to the implementation of the 2008 civil nuclear cooperation agreement.
The USIBC-NEI mission from December 3 to December 7 is the seventh commercial nuclear mission to India, and will include representatives from across the nuclear supply chain. The delegation will be led by senior executives from GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Westinghouse Electric Company.
