NEW DELHI: A big fire broke out in the Narora plant on April 1. An emergency was declared at the plant, when an explosion in one of the turbines of the nuclear reactor resulted in a big fire causing a serious setback to the countries nuclear program. =a The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) has set up a committee to investigate the cause of fire at the turbine room of the reactor which was later shut down.

An AEC spokesman said “only after that we can say when the reactor will be put into operation.” This is the second fire accident in 18 months in the atomic plants managed by the nuclear power corporation.

In late 1991, the switchyard of Kakrapar atomic power station in Gujarat was gutted delaying is commissioning by several weeks.

With the closure of unit one of the Narora atomic station March 31, and the second unit under maintenance since February, flow of nuclear power into the northern grid has become zero.

The unit one that started producing electricity in July 1989 was operating at a power level of 190 MW when fire in the turbine room made the reactor to trip.

According to sources, the routing part of the generator uses hydrogen gas for cooling. Leaking hydrogen gas in the presence of an electrical spark could lead to explosion, he said.

Fire could also arise from cable galleries due to overheating, or from oil leaking from joints and bearings due to poor maintenance.

India’s laws do not permit discussion of nuclear related issues and allow the Govt to push through unsafe programs, Recently BBC television crew. Made a secret documentary of the great health hazards of the unsafe nuclear program being pursued by India, It depicted thousands of people suffering miserably from nuclear related diseases in areas close to the country’s nuclear plants. The documentary is banned in India because the govt doesn’t want any Opposition to its nuclear policy. The pathetic state of people working in nuclear installations and in places where the raw material is mined would have created uproar in any civilized nation of the world.

A four member team comprising experts from India’s Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) had been constituted to examine the cause of the incident and assess the damage to equipment and other materials, the sources said.

The committee had been asked to give an interim report within a week, they added.

Emergency was declared at 0330 hours Wednesday (IST) when the unit, which was operating at 190 MIWE, was automatically tripped to a safe shut down state after the fire broke out,

The managing director of the nuclear power corporation (NPC).

$.K.Chatterjee, accompanied by senior engineers reached the site Thursday. A team of engineers have also reached the spot, the sources said.

According to information received late Thursday evening, the fire has caused extensive damage to the turbine and generator of unit number one.

Officials have ruled out sabotage.

The officials connected with the power station, who requested anonymity, said it would take several months for unit one to become operational.

 

The building housing the turbine generator had been cordoned off to enable the department of atomic energy engineers to carefully investigate the cause of the mishap.

The building houses two turbine generators, which are separated by 30 meters. Only one of the generators was involved in the accident.

Our Correspondents adds, that India’s ambitious nuclear program is being pursued relentlessly, often bypassing safety standards.

 

Article extracted from this publication >>  April 9, 1993