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Koodankulam: Letter to Government of India’s expert panel from the anti nuclear movement

by People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy, 8 November 2011

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Koodankulam: Letter to expert panel from People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy

November 8, 2011

From:
- People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE)
- Idinthakarai & P. O. 627 104
- Tirunelveli District
- Tamil Nadu
- Phone: 98656 83735; 98421 54073

To
- The Members
- The Central Government “Expert Group†and
- The Government of Tamil Nadu Team
- Tirunelveli

Dear Team Members:

We, the activists of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy
(PMANE), would like to bring the following demands and issues to your
kind consideration with regards to the Koodankulam Nuclear Power
Project (KKNPP):

[1] We would like to request the Government of India and the
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to acknowledge and honor the Cabinet
Resolution of the Government of Tamil Nadu passed on October 22, 2011
and announce formally and categorically that all the works at the
KKNPP have been halted fully and completely.

[2] We would also request a White Paper on what prompted the
Secretary of the DAE, Dr. Srikumar Banerjee, to announce that the
KKNPP was in a dangerous situation and Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s
contradictory claim on November 6, 2011 that the KKNPP project was
completely safe.

[3] We would like to request copies of the Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA), Site Evaluation Study, Safety Analysis Report, VVER
Performance Report and all other relevant documents for reactors 1 and
2 in order to prepare ourselves and initiate a meaningful dialogue
with the Central and State teams.

[4] We would also request a copy of the Inter-Governmental Agreement
(IGA) on the liability issue that was signed secretly by the
governments of Russia and India in 2008.

[5] We would like the Central and State teams to probe all the
following issues with regards to the KKNPP project and prepare
position papers on each of the following topics:

  • siting of reactors 1 and 2;
  • environmental impact assessment (EIA) report;
  • Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations;
  • public hearing processes;
  • construction quality and reliability;
  • contractor irregularities and corruption charges;
  • employment issues;
  • VVER reactor design and engineering;
  • VVER reactor performance and safety;
  • dummy fuel and disposal;
  • fuel procurement for KKNPP and mode of transportation;
  • fresh water demand and supply;
  • Pechiparai dam and Tamirabharani river water utilization;
  • desalination plants and reliability;
  • impact of desalination on the sea and sea food;
  • nuclear waste disposal and management (high-grade, medium-grade,
    low-grade and liquid wastes);
  • reprocessing plans and plant at KKNPP site;
  • radiation safety;
  • routine emissions;
  • workers’ safety and well-being;
  • people’s safety and well-being;
  • baseline data on health concerns;
  • radiation illnesses (including all types of cancers);
  • high and dense population around the plant (exclusion,
    sterilization and emergency planning zones);
  • oceanography;
  • fisheries and seafood security;
  • impact on land, agriculture, livestock, and food security;
  • impact on flora and fauna;
  • coolant water disposal and thermal ecology;
  • seismology;
  • conservation issues (Gulf of Mannar biosphere and the Western Ghats);
  • terrorist and security threats;
  • impact on bilateral relations with Sri Lanka, Maldives, China and Pakistan;
  • impact of mining activities;
  • disaster management plans and emergency preparedness;
  • evacuation procedure and preparedness;
  • Russian and Indian liability issues;
  • project cost and Russian debt analysis;
  • electricity generation and transmission;
  • capacity factor monitoring;
  • fuel and waste transportation;
  • decommissioning plans, technology and cost;
  • impact of increased sea patrol and militarization of the area;
  • erosion of civil liberties;
  • noise pollution;
  • KKNPP expansion plans (3, 4, 5, 6);
  • IAEA safeguards arrangements;
  • NSG-related issues;
  • setting up possible weapons facility at KKNPP; and
  • Any other related issues.

[6] We would also like to request you to translate all these position
papers into Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi and disseminate widely
throughout Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other states of India in order to
facilitate popular discussions, expert debates, media discourses, and
dialogues with the governmental authorities and civil society groups.

[7] We would also request the Central Government’s Expert Group to
meet face to face with the common people at least in the 30-Km radius
of the KKNPP project and allay their fears as it has been decided by
the Cabinet Resolution of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

[8] We would request the Central Government’s Expert Group to meet
with the PMANE’s Expert Team and hold discussions on the
above-mentioned topics till the fears and concerns of the people are
allayed.

With best personal regards and all peaceful wishes,

Cordially,

M. Pushparayan M. P. Jesuraj

Copies to:

The District Collector
- Tirunelveli District, Tirunelveli [Tamil Nadu, India]

The Superintendent of Police
- Tirunelveli District, Tirunelveli [Tamil Nadu, India]