I have mentioned India in a number of previous posts. They have nuclear weapons and an active commercial nuclear reactor program. In this post, I am going to dig a little deeper into the domestic Indian nuclear program.
The Nuclear Fuel complex in Hyderabad, India is a key facility in the Indian nuclear industry. All the fuel for Indian nuclear reactors is produced at this facility. It has plants that convert yellow cake from uranium ore processing into uranium oxide. The uranium oxide is then converted into uranium hexa-fluoride in order to produce enriched uranium oxide in other plants. The enriched uranium is made into pellets which are then inserted into zircaloy tubes to create fuel assemblies. Eight hundred and fifty tons of fuel are produced for India’s fleet of pressurized heavy water reactors. All of this is accomplished on site at the complex. Other components for nuclear reactors are also produced at this complex.
There are serious concerns in Hyderabad about pollution from the plant threatening the people and the environment. When the plant was first built, it was outside the city. Although the guidelines for urban development say that the any residences should be miles away from such a facility, now it is surrounded by residences. Zirconium and other wastes from the plants on the site used to be dumped in an unprotected area. People would visit the dump regularly looking for anything useful or salable. After a fire broke out in the dump, killing several people and injuring others, a big wall was built around the dump site to prevent public access. Ground water pollution has been detected in the area around the site. Members of a government pollution control board were denied entrance to the complex and denied information about what goes on there in violation of India’s Environmental Protection Act. Rail cars that bring in uranium ore are not labeled and may be used for transporting food or other products when they leave Hyderabad. Emergency plans for the complex are not being shared with the local authorities. There have been accidents and explosions inside the complex but authorities were assured that they posed no threat and were not allowed inside to investigate. Recent plans for urban development include expansion of residential density around the complex.
I have highlighted a lot of problems with monitoring and regulating nuclear processing facilities in the United States. But I have never seen anything like the cavalier attitude exhibited by the people who operate the Hyderabad Nuclear Fuel complex in India. The operators seem totally unconcerned with the threat that they pose to the people around the plant. Huge tanks of noxious chemicals are kept there and if any of them were breached, millions of people could be under threat. The local authorities are incompetent, corrupt or powerless. And the national government seems inclined to let the abuses and problems at the complex continue without serious investigation. I very much fear that only a major accident with loss of many lives will cause any significant change in this dangerous situation.
Hyderabad, India from a photo by Bikash Mishra:
