India News | Exercise to Gauge Readiness of Atomic Centre at Kalpakkam in Emergency Situation Held

Chennai, Dec 28 (PTI): The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Kalpakkam centre, on Tuesday successfully conducted the site emergency exercise to check the preparedness of the centre and plant management in meeting any remote emergency situation, the centre said.

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The exercise was held despite the fact that such an occurrence is most unlikely in a nuclear power plant because of the “defence in depth” philosophy in the design and operation of the plant, said M Balarama Murthy, Station Director, Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), who is also the site emergency director.

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The drill was held as per the guidelines of the emergency manual of Kalpakkam centre and demonstrated the evacuation of all non-essential personnel out of the site and mock de-contamination of a contaminated vehicle in the site, among other things. The drill, involving 5,000 personnel of the site who were evacuated in two hours, was completed in three-and-a-half hours.

Senior officials, including directors of Kalpakkam DAE centre units and observers from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), observed the conduct of the exercise which successfully met the requirements stipulated by the AERB for emergency preparedness at a nuclear facility. “It has also enhanced the confidence in the capabilities of the DAE in handling any events at nuclear facilities,” Balarama Murthy said in a statement here.

The Kalpakkam centre has various units like Madras Atomic Power Station (operated by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd), Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (under construction by BHAVINI) and Nuclear Recycle Board, Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility (under construction) etc. The drill was overseen by the Kalpakkam Emergency Committee which is headed by Balarama Murthy.

The exercise is held annually.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)