To Say No to Indo US Nuclear Deals

Recently, while New Delhi was experiencing serial bombings Prime Minister and Defence Minister of India were in Washington and Paris signing the Nuclear deals that ended Indian “ isolation and sanctions.â€

Strong opposition by the Communist Party notwithstanding, most Scientists in India observed discreet silence. But according to Dr. Dale Klein, Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), to revive the dormant ‘Nuclear sector in the US have to rebuilt supply networks, craft workers and welders to be recruited and trained, component manufacturing shops to be built, and industrial infrastructures reinforced to revive the (US) Nuclear Power programme.’ Mr. Lothar Wedekind – Editor-in-Chief and Head of the IAEA News and Information Section, Vienna, supported Klein’s view that Challenges are formidable, the future of Nuclear Power is uncertain. But One thing looks clear –‘ the next generation of (nuclear) plants will not be made in the USA.’

Indo-US Nuclear deal had been presented as an attractive offer to help India meet its high-energy demands in 2025. Nuclear power is capital-intensive requires high funding before construction, during operation and after de-commissioning of nuclear plants. In the US, 48 reactors are nearing or waiting decommissioning. The cost of decommissioning is estimated roughly $40 billions and no State government in the US is willing to bear the cost of decommissioning and pay for the long-term waste management.

From the hustings it is clear that George Bush is out-sourcing nuclear business to India . In order to overcome its financial difficulties, the US embarked on massive arms sale to Georgia, Taiwan, Pakistan, Libya, and to oil-rich Arab countries. Washington is negotiating advanced war systems sale to India and make New Delhi its strategic partner.

We do not doubt high caliber of Indian scientists but since Chernobyl accident (1986), sufficient data is available indicative of long-lasting hazards of radiation. The Kyoto Protocol had, therefore, not included nuclear power enlisting Clean Development Mechanism and excluded it from the climate change mitigation energy options.

Therefore, it is incumbent on the government of India to consider the long-term social and political implications of the N-Deals. Designed life of a reactor is about 40-50 years. There is no roadmap of economic and political organization necessary for maintenance of decommissioned reactors. NO government is likely to divest millions of public funds for protection of useless nuclear burial sites. But unguarded they would endanger life and liberty of future generations. India still has time to rethink its nuclear policy.

Concerned Scientists and Philosophers:

Signatories include:

Tony Benn, Former Energy Minister, London (UK)

Balwant Bhaneja, Former Canadian Science Councilor, Ottowa (Canada)

Noam Chomsky. Linguists, Social Philospher, MIT (USA)

David Krieger, President, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Santa Barbara , California (USA)

Dr. Dhirendra Sharma, Director, Centre for Science Policy, Dehradun (India)

[Send signatures of support to: psand (AT) vsnl.net]