Kudankulam plant safe, say experts

Nuclear experts said that the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) has built into its design a multi-layered safety mechanism along with additi­onal protocols to safeguard aga­inst systemic or human error at the 2,000-MW station. The incorporation of broad-ranging saf­ety features makes the plant co­mpletely safe and insulated from a set of worst-case radiation risk scenarios, including a Chernobyl-type calamity or a Fukushima-like disaster set off by a tsunami, scientists told an interactive public meeting hos­ted by the Chemical Industries Association to explain the safety aspects of the KKNPP. According to experts, the KKNPP had multiple safety barriers such as leak-tight circumference, four redundant saf­ety trains (even though one was a sufficient safe­guard) and clo­sed loop systems. The plant had a negative power coefficient that put itself in a self-terminating mode when th­ere was an increase in reactor power and a negative void coefficient that also led to automatic shut-down if there was a less water situation.