Row Over N-Policy Stalls Repair Of Rajasthan Reactors

Nuclear specialists fear that pressure tubes in the Canada-designed Rajasthan Atomic Power Plants (RAPS) are in danger of rupture, but say they are unable to take up repair work because of politicisation of non-proliferation issues.

The question of repairs to two RAPS nuclear reactors has been considerably politicised, said Alex Taylor, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Agra International Ltd, the Canadian company that installed RAPS Unit-1 and Unit-2.

Taylor said the Ontario Hydro company had offered to repair vital pressure tubes, considered the heart of the Candu nuclear reactor at a cost of $500 million. We, who installed these reactors, can undertake the repair work at a comparatively cheaper price-tag but the whole issue has been politicised by the two countries, he told India Abroad News Service.

 

The problems over supply of parts and maintenance of the nuclear reactors started when India conducted a nuclear experiment in 1974, he said. Its question of non-proliferation of nuclear energy, he stated.

An official of Canadas Atomic Energy Commission Ltd (AECL) said it was concerned that these vital pressure tubes in the Candu reactors in India may be in danger of rupture.

Dr A Gopalakrishnan, former chairman of Indias Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), had said the two units had been shut down for a while for in-house repairs.

Satya Verma, an electrical engineer with Ontario Hydro, was in the team of engineers that installed RAPS Unit-1. The two units produce 400 megawatts of power.

Its not a substantial amount taking into account the cost factor for repairing the tubes, he said.

According to Ontario Hydro documents, the 206 MW Douglas Point Stations served as the model for several units in India and a 125 MW station in Pakistan. The Douglas Point nuclear reactor was shut down from May 1984.

A study by Ontario Hydro concluded that for the medium load growth forecast, it would not be economical for Ontario Hydro to buy the plant from AECL, immediately retube it and resume operation.

Following on the lines of Douglas Point study, Verma suggested RAPS 1 and 2 should also be shut down.

In 1984, it was estimated that retubing of Douglas Point would cost Ontario Hydro $120-230 million.