Knowing the "New-Clear" Power...

The day was hectic both at home and at college. My buddy's face was chlorophylled and he was really mad with this. These after holi doldrums were taken advantage of when we were sitting in the peace at the state of the art(metaphor)library discussing over the humungous topic of hyperspace, of which resulted of him being the guy who had a green face at the end of the day. So when we were at college news came that the general manager of the NPCIL (Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited) had come for an interactive session with our seniors for removing some misconceptions that we had for the term nuclear. Saddened by the thought that we couldn’t be a part of it, we were at the library discussing the Michio Kaku thing whose after events will be remembered by even his (my buddy’s) grandchildren. So we went to our HOD sir assured us that at a later hour of the day we can have the privilege to see him in action at the IEI center here, convinced us to go home merry.

At the evening when me and my buddy went to be at the evening session of his lecture, we were the first among our folks to be there, and to kill time we went to the local club center to see the scores that India could manage. Hmmmm India did well...

So after we all gathered around the IEI clubhouse we entered the mansion and we realized that we had just made it in time. His name was Mr. R.R. KAKDE, general manager, corporate communication & appellate authority. As from his designation all i could infer was that he could be a man who is more involved in the legal issues of the matter. But he was yet to demonstrate his skills. After the ceremonial introductory speech by our respected HOD sir who himself was an associate member of the organization of IEI, we (at least i) felt elevated to be among the most reputed and the best engineers who filled the seminar hall and eagerly waited for the man of the hour to speak. At last the time came when he stood up thanked us all for being there (which i feel glad to be a part of) and for giving him the opportunity to spread the motives and future of the NUCLEAR POWER RESOURCE in India.

Now as he started to describe everything along with his slides it became quite clear that we were in dire need of a hunch to seriously start thinking about our power resources. as from his catalogues India who produced around 1320 kw of power at 1947 now produces a total of around 2 lakh kw of power. Now if we relate our neighbor china with us on this matter we would see that for a state which produced for about 1200 kw of power during our independence now they went up to producing around 9 lakh kw of power. Just a simple subtraction without any calculator is enough for the math that we are much much behind the world scenario. Here in India an average person consumes around 700 kW of power an annum where a person in the most developed country of the world, America, consumes around 2500 kW of power. Now to match the world statistic on this matter the govt. of India has decided that we would go for the employment of nuclear power in India. For the record, in India presently the nuclear reactors (a total of 20 in India) contribute hardly 2% of the total power that is produced per annum. Considering the stakes that are there for the import of coal which, for a country whose major electricity comes from thermal, had been a major issue with all the shipment and the ever increasing rates. The only reason out of this problem seems to be the nuclear power option.

The name nuclear often does the trick and we start thinking of many things among which radiation and radioactive hazards might be the primary ones. But the thing is not what we always imagine. This is a completely safe and green project where there is no scope for radioactivity. It’s true that we are doing this with radioactive minerals as fuel for the nuclear power producing stations but the way it is done is completely safe. First of all, the building that is the home for the nuclear reactor, which is the thing that produces the nuclear power, is dual layered and very well protected. After an incident at Russia the world govt. took the initiative to make the container walls dual layered. Now in between the dual layered walls there is negative pressure. At the atmosphere there is pressure that is positive, ant inside the walls there is negative pressure. The reason to maintain negative pressure is that whatever radiation is produced inside the reactor this is not going to the atmosphere. It is all contained inside the reactor chamber.

As for the amount of radiation that is emitted, he showed that human body is under the constant effect of radiation. In fact there is no place on the earth where there is no radiation. In a normal day there are enough radiations around us that we are unaware of. He showed that human body can take up to around 2000(might not be the exact figures) micro Sievert of radiation without any side effect. As for a single moment exposure to an x-ray there is an emission of around 400-500 u Sievert of radiation to the human body. Whereas the nuclear stations actually emit around 10-20 u Sievert to the environment, which is hardly of any significance to the human body. So the radiation factor is convincible and the nuclear power production is a completely green process without the emission of any greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Now came the topic for cooling the reactors. Now this was an exhaustive process for which huge amounts of water are needed and the best solution seemed to be the salty sea water. Now the govt. of India has their rules to maintain the sea water temperature for the harmony of the flora and fauna. So the water that is taken to cool the reactors is used and then again sprinkled into the sea. The nuclear power authority takes full care of the fact that the released water temperature is not in variance of 5 degrees from the water they actually took from the sea. Now the sprinkling process is a notable point as it helps in cooling the water faster and also it reduces the hotspot for around 200-300 meters around where from the water is sprinkled. As for now, for about 40 years of establishing the first nuclear reactor there is no complaints from the local fish vendors that there had been any change in the catch of their fish in general.

Now came the topic of what happens to the waste materials that are obtained with it. Now the process of producing the nuclear power involves a fuel which in India’s case is fissionable uranium. Hence the special fuel rod that is used for filling the cartridge that goes into the reactor is filled with uranium and after it is over what is left in the fuel rod is waste plutonium. Now they are again utilizing the plutonium and then again and then again. But finally some waste materials are produced that is then taken into account. Here the waste materials in the nuclear power reactor undergo the vetrification process, the process to make glass, and as such they are made into glass slabs and put into concrete slabs with steel lining around them. Now for storing these wastes the govt. of India decided the vacant goldmines of Bihar and some other places where they could store the glass slabs and keep it under constant monitoring.

As the seminar came to its end the safety issue was raised and example was given about the japan tragedy on account of tsunami. Now tsunami is an event, an earthquake, specifically caused by the movement of the tectonic plates of the earth. Now japan was hardly 130 kms from the place where the tectonic plates are located. So the aftermath of the quake is greater than anticipated for them and is for proper reasons. And moreover the blast was a chemical accident due to the ionization of water molecules and not because of the nuclear reactor because the reactor was closed within 2 seconds of the first tremor was received. India on the other hand is 1000 kms away from the nearest of the plates. Hence the tremor has to travel thousands of kilometers to reach to the soils of India which would nullify the effect of the quake to a great extent.

As for the future he told that there are 7 more reactors under construction in India with high capacity. Treaties and agreements are being signed with countries like the USA to bring more developed and sophisticated reactors from their country. Statistics have shown that what 700 tons of coal produce a meager 28 kgs of nuclear fuel can produce that much energy. Hence nuclear power is the most promising power source with minimum exhaustion and maximum efficiency. The only need is to enlighten the mass about the project and removing the misconceptions that are in our minds. Nuclear power could prove to be the only answer to the problems that we are facing right now and it might just be the high time to think about its prospects as a day without electricity can alter the socio-economical scenario of the state, and we definitely don’t want that…

Peace!!!