CHENNAI: Fuel loading, a crucial step towards commissioning the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, will done in a “month or two”, a senior official of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd said here on Tuesday. The plant is now “fully ready” to take the fuel, Shiv Abhilash Bhardwaj, Director (Technical), NPCIL, told reporters at IIT Madras.The plant was gearing up for fuel loading when the protests stopped works in October. After fuel loading, there are several other stages to be completed before actual power production begins, he said, adding that the NPCIL has diverted skilled persons from other plants to expedite work. The scientist said that an exact time-frame could not be provided for the plant to start power production as clearances are needed from regulatory bodies for every step. “An additional regulatory inspection would now be carried out to see how well we have maintained the plant over the last few months after the works were halted. The information so far is that the plant is quite healthy and only minor works such as painting the frames would have to be carried out,” he said. Another Mock Drill NeededProtests at the site erupted after the conduct of a mock disaster management drill by scientists last year. Bharadwaj said a similar exercise was inevitable as it was mandatory for clearance from the concerned agencies. Asked if he was confident about the people of Koodankulam cooperating for such an exercise, he said the State government has to handle it. “There has been some lack of communication between us and the people of the locality. During the hot run in September when we were blowing the steam, we did not communicate properly, especially in the backdrop of the Fukishima accident. However, emergency exercise is mandatory before operation. No regulatory step can be avoided. But if at all an emergency happens, it is for the State government to handle. So it is an exercise for them.”The NPCIL would train persons of the local authority to carry out the exercise, he said, adding that the State government was expected to stick to the manual provided by the scientists in times of emergency. Given that the Koodankulam plant was a first-of-its-kind in the country, a number of “physical tests” would be carried out once the plant became critical. “All calculations about the plant done theoretically have to be shown through physical tests,” the scientist said. On the source of water for the plant, he said contrary to popular belief, the project has its own desalination plant. “The water would come from the desalination plant and not from any fresh water body,” he said.
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