Conflict over India's Nuclear Technology

I would like to focus on the conflicts over the use of nuclear energy in India and the socio-political issues related to that. Well I was born and brought up in Rawatbhata, the biggest nuclear hub in India and have seen quite a few controversies.

Indo-US ties are on a high these days. But it has never been so some times back. Actually US was quite hostile towards India and Indian policies. At that time during the nuclear tests India sent a letter stating that India needs to go nuclear to check the neighbors in the north. So I think not many would actually disagree with the stand India took at that time.

But now the condition is different. There have been nuclear ties between the two countries. This has led to people raising voice against this. They are saying that this may lead to an arms race in the South-Asian region. Some are raising voice against India becoming the ally of US and the reason they give is that US needs India to guard the trade route in the Strait of Malacca which comprises of 80% of the total world trade.

Also some people fear that US is pushing India to become nuclear so that Indian need for fossil fuels will substantially decrease and will ease US to take benefit of the reserves in the Middle East and also adding to this US has not still touched its own oil reserves yet. This is somewhat a big issue for people who speak against being nuclear for the sole reason of the pollution caused by doing so.

Again to add to this there is the market factor that is responsible for some dilemmas. Most motor giants in the US are not going for R&D in green cars only for the reason being that they still have control over vast reserves of oil. India which is one of the major importers of oil is not thinking in this respect and creating a more dependence on US policies for development. This clearly states how market plays an important role in defining policies.

There is another issue with the Indian nuclear program. After it had gone into ties with US, India is going to buy light water reactors form US. For this India has to clearly differentiate between the civilian and the military reactors, which was not done until now. The purpose being that US can now easily monitor the military programs of India. This has resulted in slowing down the fast breeder reactor program. The fast breeder reactor program stressed on using plutonium which was in abundance in India, but now India has to import enriched U-235 from US for this purpose as the amount of uranium available is quite low in India.

Keep aside the conflicts arising out of the Indo-US ties and the political and economic conditions resulting in such conflicts. There have been other issues against which environmentalists have raised war cries and some of the issues will be discussed as follows.

There has always for some time people and organizations both inside and outside this country has raised questions on the safety of the reactors in India. Most reactors in India are of the CANDU (Canadians reactors) class whose design and safety features are somewhat doubtful. Some years back there was a condition in Kakrapara reactor which was similar on scale with the Chernobyl and the Three Mile Island case, only the accident was averted in the last moment. But never has been much concerns raised. Only concerned raised these days are of the nuclear wastes and how they are effecting the nearby people. On my visit to Kakrapara I saw people living very near to the nuclear reactors. Mostly the norm is that one must not live within 10 kms radius of the nuclear reactors. But if they tried to rehabilitate the people living near the reactors social groups will stand against them. Then how can one expect sustainable development in such situations.

There was another case in Rawatbhata in which there were reports of dumping radiation effected water into the Chambal river which inhabitants of Rawatbhata drink their water from. At that time there was some hype and there were inquiry ordered in this case. At that time media mainly BBC came to Rawatbhata and for the sake of publicity went to the nearby villages and showed mostly T.B. patients affected from radiation. They also showed some cancer patients and without any proof broadcasted them as radiation victims. These types of things cause negative publicity and are in some cases harmful. Same was the case of Aaj-Tak team going to Jadugoda where uranium was mined and showed the polio and T.B. effected people as victims of radiation.

Then there is the long ranging debate of how to dump the radioactive wastes. Protests have been going on along the world against illegal dumping of the nuclear wastes. There were cases during the time of tsunami when nuclear wastes dumped into the sea actually came to land and infected people. To keep away from such debates most reactors store the wastes into cylindrical containers and stored underground in the waste lands near the reactor region. But still there are people who show concerns but never propose solution.

Certainly one cannot run from nuclear technology and by some reasoning nuclear technology is cleaner than conventional fossil fuels. The amount of radiation produced by the nuclear reactors is far less than the background radiation in the atmosphere. Yes there are concerns but the concerns must be made in the right direction and not for personal benefits. Well one must consider and see the whole socio-political structure of India and come to a decision of whether to go nuclear and in what way.

There is no such alternate technology which can replace nuclear technology, but it requires a change in attitude towards it. States cannot be adamant against nuclear reactors giving reasons that they cause more pollution but truth is environmental pollution faced today damages more than the pollution caused by the nuclear reactors.