Rs 12-crore safety shield for Kalpakkam power plant
CHENNAI: The Kalpakkam Atomic plant and the adjoining township would get a safety wall at a cost of Rs 12 crore to minimise the effect of future Tsunami and cyclone attacks, said Baldev Raj, Director, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), in the city on Wednesday.Addressing reporters here, Raj said a series of steps would be put in place soon to protect the atomic plant and the township from future attacks of the nature. ‘‘A peripheral security boundary wall will be built on the sea front, the height of which will be above the observed Tsunami level,’’ he said.
The proposed 10-foot wall would cover around four kilometres along the Kalpakkam coastline spanning the entire plant, township and a few adjoining villages. The design of the wall would be provided by the Ocean Engineering Department of IIT Madras.
This would be reviewed by a National Committee of experts from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the Central Water and Power Research Station, the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and the Structural Engineering Research Centre (SERC). The wall is expected to be completed by early 2006.
That apart, at an estimated cost of Rs 4 lakhs, Tsunami warning systems would be set up within a radius of 10 kilometres at strategic points in the plant and township. The warning systems would even work in the event of a power failure as they could be run on solar energy, too.
A modern hospital with a state-of-the-art operation theatre would be built at Anupuram township close to Kalpakkam over the next three years. The plant is also all set to get a new set of wireless sets for its employees which could be used to ask people to vacate the plant in case of an emergency.
‘‘Only five wireless sets were available in the entire plant when the waves struck on the December 26, but it had saved the lives of all the 150 workers in the Pit II of the plant,’’ added Baldev.
Outlining the incidents that took place on the fateful day, he said though the engineers at the plant had immediately shut down the reactor and workers evacuated, four lives were lost. At least 37 had died in the township too.
Though normal work at the plant resumed on December 29, the engineers had to undertake the arduous task of clearing the sludge collected at the construction pit, which was around 20-metre deep. The construction would start as soon as the sludge was cleared, he promised. Fresh raft of 1.2 metres more would then be constructed over the existing one, he added.
Source: http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IET20050309224138&Page=T&Tit...