KUDANKULAM OFFICIAL SITE EVALUATION IS FAULTY

REPORT ON EVALUATION OF KUDANKUALM SITE FOR LCOATION OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT PRESENTS IT AS A KILLER PROJECT
 http://tshivajirao.blogspot.in/2012/05/why-kudankulam-reactors-are-killers-of.html

Note:This report obtained by Kudankulam anti- nuclear  activists from NPCIL under pressure of the RTI Act is presented as rough draft as certain pages were omitted during supply of the copy.

Based on Dianuke website report under the following website.

http://www.dianuke.org/koodankulam-site-evaluation-report-an-analysis-by-pmane/  
http://mitei.mit.edu/system/files/nuclearpower-update2009_0.pdf     [MIT Report on safety]

1.Introduction:  The acceptability of a site for locating a nuclear power plant is dependent not only on site characteristics, related primarily and directly to safety, but also on a large number of other aspects  which are only indirectly related to safety.  These include the reliability and stability of the electrical grid, the adequacy of communications etc.

The siting of nuclear power plant (NPP) generally involves studies in three stages, namely:

1)Site survey stage: The purpose of a site survey is to identify lone or more preferred candidate sites after both safety and non-safety considerations have been taken into account.  This involves the study and investigation of a large region.  It results in the rejection of unacceptable sites, and is followed by systematic screening, and comparison of remaining sites.

2) Site evaluation stage:  This stage involves the study and investigation of one or more of the preferred candidate sites to evaluate their acceptability from various consideration, and in particular from the safety considerations.  The site-related design bases are established at this stage.  Subsequent to this a preliminary safety analysis report is submitted for clearance before site construction is started.

3) Pre-operational stage: This stage includes studies and investigations of the selected site after the start of construction and before the start of operation in order to complete and refine the assessment of site characteristics and to confirm assumptions made in the safety analysis of the reactor as a part of the final safety analysis report.  The base line data on environment are also established at this stage.

The stage one is within the scope of the work of the site selection committee.  The present committee aims to have a preliminary evaluation of the feasibility of a site mainly from safety considerations and ensure that the plant site combination does not constitute an unacceptable risk.  However, in ivew of the fact that some non-safety considerations may affect safety related aspects, such items also have to be studied.  It is to be understood that the present committee has evaluated the site from screening considerations.  The site related design parameters/bases are to be established at appropriate stages.  The review is based on the available information on population and industrial growth and other proposed facilities at and around the site in addition to safety related aspects like seismo-tectonic environment, geology, hydrology, extreme meteorological Phenomenon etc.  The site is evaluated from the following considerations.

1.       Effect of the region of the site on the plant   2. Effect of the plant on the region

3.       Population considerations.

While the first of the above factors decide the safety of the plant due to site related natural and man-induced events, the second factor influences the potential radiological impact from the plant on the environment.  Population consideration is important for emergency planning.

The acceptability of a site for a particular NPP depends on the existence of engineering solution to site related problems which gives assurance that the proposed plant can be built and operated within acceptably low risk to the population of the region.

IAEA guidelines (1,2) have been kept in mind for the site evaluation.

2. REVIEW FOR THE SUITABILITY OF THE SITE AT KUDANKULAM

2.1   GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS       2.1.1  SAFETY-RELATED ASPECTS

Potential site-specific natural hazards and man-induced events have been evaluated for initial appraisal of their impact on the plant design and the enigneerability under the given circumstances.  Subsequently, these studies form the design bases.

Among the natural hazards, the following aspects as relevant to site have been studied.

i)                    Surface faulting     ii)Seismicity     iii)Suitability of subsurface material

iv)                 Flood and     v)Extreme meteorological phenomena (e.g cyclone)

Because of rocky substrata slope instability, soil liquefaction, surface collapse, subsidence or uplift are not applicable for the present site.

Man-induced events include accidents due to

i)                    Air traffic        ii)Vehicular road traffic

ii)                   Industrial and Military activities in the immediate vicinity of the site.

Capability of dispersion in air and water are studied for possible radiological impact on environment. The availability of adequate cooling water supply for the ultimate Heat Sink is the central safety issue.  Feasibility of implementing effective emergency actions has also been considered.

2.1.2 NON-SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS

        (Economic, Technical, Environmental and Social Aspects)

These are primarily related to engineering feasibility.  However, some of the factors may indirectly be related to the safety of the NPP.

The factors considered are:   i)Electricity network  ii)Availability of cooling water iii) Transport routes

iv) Topography   v)Industrial support at site  vi) Non-radiological impact on the environment (e.g.. chemical and thermal pollution, industrial growth and its impact etc.)

2.1.3  OBSERVATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE

The committee has studied all site related data submitted by NPC (3,4,5) and has, in accordance with the criteria mentioned above, made a review of the suitability of the Kudankulam site for locating nuclear power station having two units of 1000 MWe VVER reactor. 

The review findings are presented in Tables I and II

3.0  ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN:

 The committee recommends that the following actions should be taken at appropriate stages.

3.1.  ASPECTS RELATED TO SITE

1)      ODC committee of NPC to evaluate suitability of transportation of ODC at design stage

2)      Maximum Flood Level should be estimated accurately considering IAEA safety Guide 50-SG-S10B.  Revised report of CWPRS should be submitted to Design Safety Committee.

3)      Analysis for the quality of construction water is to be carried out.

4)      In order to enhance additional reliability for water Supply, which is essential for functioning of various safety systems of the reactor, intake well at Pechiparai Dam should be provided at lower elevation than the minimum draw-down level of the reservoir.  However, it should be ensured by proper management of water distribution that the water level is maintained above this minimum level.

5)      Adequate storage of fresh water for prolonged safe shutdown of the reactors is to be provided within plant boundary for safety related systems.  Ground water source should be explored.

6)      Environmental Survey laboratory should be set up at site and instruments are to be installed at site to collect meteorological data and background radiation.

7)      Site related design considerations such as seismic aspects, etc are to be established before submission of PSAR.

8)      The committee has been informed that detail subsoil investigations have been carried out (12).  Bore-hole investigations are to be carried out at the proposed location of various buildings and structures.  The report should be forwarded to design group for taking into account at the time of actual design.

9)      Power evacuation studies particularly that influence the plant grid interaction should be persued.  Feasibility of operation on islanding mode may be studied in collaboration with CEA.  In addition availability of a reliable (dedicated) startup power source of adequate capacity should be examined.

10)   Stipulations made by various state and central authorities in giving clearance, should be met.  In addition, plantation in the area under control of the project should be taken up along with site development.

11)    Tamilnadu legislation to control population growth beyond natural growth within the sterilized zone is to be implemented.

12)   Termination of the lease in 1994 for lime stone quarry.

3.2 ASPECTS RELATED TO DESIGN:

1.       Radiological impact should be assessed with proper source terms and relevant dispersion characteristics of the site.  Dose limits prescribed should be met at a distance of 1.6km in event of greater exclusion radius adopted by NPC.

2.       Stack height to be checked by Health Physics Division,BARC, considering topography and dispersion characteristics.

3.        Model studies should be taken up for intake and outfall structure for thermal pollution and recirculation.

4.       Studies on Biofouling and jelly-fish etc. that may affect the water supply should be taken up.

5.       Studies on accretion/erosion rate around the plant site should be carried out.  If required, proper protection should be provided.

6.       Design should be engineered to meet site related design basis events.

7.        Atleast two evacuation routes from plant site during an emergency should be provided.

 4.0 RECOMMENDATIONS:

The committee is of the opinion that Kudankulam site meets the major criteria for siting 2 x 1000 MWe VVER units.  The Committee at the same time recommends that the observations made in the preface and the actions recommended in Section 3 above need to be implemented at appropriate stages.

REFERENCES

1.       IAEA – Code of Practice on Safety in Nuclear Power Plant Siting.  IAEA Safety Series No.50-C-S International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1979

2.       Site Survey for Nuclear Power Plants.  IAEA Safety series No. 50-SG-S9.  IAEA(1984)

3.       Environmental data on proposed Kudankulam site for submission to Tamilnadu Pollution Control Board for 2 x 1000 MWe VVER nuclear power station.

4.       Write up on Kudankulam site – DAE

5.       Siting data in AERB standard format.  (Received from NPC vide letter NPC/KK/24/1032, dt.7-3-89

6.       Layout of main plant building for 2 x 1000 MWe VVER project at Kudankulam

7.       CWPRS Pune Report: “Safe Grade Elevation for the proposed nuclear power station at Kudankulam,  Tamilnadu

8.       Draft report on Earthquake design basis for Kudankulam site, DAE, 1988 – A.K Ghosh and DC Banerjee.

9.       Appendix to Part-I of Site Selection Committee report

10.   Power Transmission system for Kudankulam Atomic Power Project -CEA report

11.   Letter NPC/KK/24 dated 16-3-89 received from NPC

12.   Brief note from NPC on “Geological setup of Kudankulam site”.             

T A B L E -1

SALIENT FEATURES OF KUDANKULAM SITE CONSIDERED DURING SITE EVALUATION

S.No.	Site characteristics Influencing the NPP	Specification/Desirable Characteristics	Observations for Kudankulam site	Remarks
1	Topography	Plain topography	Plain topography-elevation+3m to 45m above MSL.  Area measuring 1Km to 2Km available (3), (6)	Terrain suitable sufficient land available for future expansion
2	Accessibility i) Nearest Broadgauge rail head		Kanyakumari(27Km), Valliyur (27Km)	Recommendation for ODC transport 1)All consignments/equipments with weight (30Ton: USSR-tutitorin by ship Tuticorin-site: by road or on barges by sea route 2) All consignments (30 ton USSR-site: by ship and barges. To be unloaded at jetty within the plant
	ii)Nearest National Highway		NH7 at Kanyakumari 27Km, Valliyur 27Km,
	iii) Nearest Seaport		Tuticorin (100Km)
	iv) Nearest district road		Coastal road 4Km
3	Construction Facilities i)Construction materials		Coarse aggregates available at Anjugrarer (4km).  Sand available at Ratucenathjewari   road (7km) Bricks available at Panagudi (27km)	More sources will be established at construction stage.
	ii)Construction power	26KVA +2 KVA for township	Panagudi sub-station (27Km)  - 110KV line exists. 110KV line from Kodyar power station is also being considered.
	iii)Construction water	3.5 cu.sec (350 cu.m per hour	Initially limited supply to be tapped from ground water sources.  Subsequently the demand will be met from Pechiparai dam	Quality of construction water is likely to be acceptable.  Analysis of water will be carried out.
	iv)Infrastructure facilities (e.g minor workshop etc)		Nagercoil (30km) and Tuticorin (100km)
4	Availability of Power Supply and Transmission Lines i)Start-up Power	50KVA per unit	Available from main state grid and Tuticorin Thermal Power Station Plant (630MW) 220KV line to be drawn from Tuticorin.
	ii)Power evacuation scheme		Feasible as per preliminary study conducted by CEA.  Detail study is in progress	Present grid capacity 12832 MWe.  Nuclear 470MWe. Projected capacity in 1995 will be 27541MWe.  Nuclear  1910 MWe
5	Availability of Water i)Condenser cooling	6000 Cu sec  (on once-through basis)	Sea water cooling on once-through basis silt content:60-100 ppm Particle size75 microns.Temperature:26-29 oC	No constraint. Titanium tubes will be used.  Study on biofouling and jelly fish that may affect the water supply will be taken at design stage.  Model study will be taken up for intake and outfall structure(5)
	ii)Fresh water for make-up and domestic use	10 cu sec	Assured by State Government.  One pipeline from Pechiparai dam (at 65km) to be laid. pH:7.  Dissolved solids:25mg/litre,  Suspended solids:negligible, Turbidity:5mg/l (5)	Dam storage 4.45 TMC ft. Dead storage can account for 3 years drought (5)
6	Township	400 acres	400 acres of land identified near Chettikulam village about 7km from the site (3)

TABLE-2    SITE CHARACTERISTICS AFFECTING SAFETY OF PLANT

S.No.	Site Characteristics Influencing the NPP	Specification/Desirable Characteristics	Observations for Kudankulam site	Remarks
1	Geology i)Foundation conditions depths of bed rock and type		Bed rock at 5-16m below ground. Biotite granite genesis with lenticular bodies of charnockites or quartzites
	ii) Strength	Maximum intensity of loading 6kg/sq.cm at RB	Dry strength : 650kg/sq.cm Wet strength: 450 kg/sq.cm (5)
	iii)Ground water	Below 1m	5-8 m below ground – gradient towards sea (5)
2.	Natural events: i)Coastal erosion		Erosion insignificant with respect to life of station. Nearest main plant structure from shore about 120m away from the sea base line	Layout for the main plant still under consideration figure of 120 tons estimate on the basis on 7 ton as the ground elevation at main plant building.
	ii)Flood		Maximum flood level considering tidal range wave run-up and maximum stage surge 5.9m above chart datam of 0.0 Exposed structures placed well above this level. (7)	Grade level around Reactor Building will be above 7m from MSL. Revised report on MFL from CWPRS awaited.  Grade elevation will be changed if necessary.
	iii)Tsunami		Not significant as per preliminary report of CWPRS	1m height of wave considered due to tsunami effect.
	iv)Wind, storm, Cyclone		Maximum speed of storm:112km/hr. Storm surge accounted for in flooding. Exceedance probability 5% as per preliminary repsort from CWPRS.	Engineering capability to design for wind load exists.
	v)Slope instability		Not applicable for rocky substrata
	Vi)Soil liquefaction		Not applicable for rocky substrata
	vii)Seismotectonic environment	No active fault within 5km of NPP. Engineering capability for stipulated earthquake acceleration should be possible	No active fault within 5km. Site is in seismic zoneII as per IS 1893; 1984. Nearest epicenter at Trivandrum (90km) earthquake in the region. Magnitude 6 at Coimbatore (8 Feb, 1900) (300 km) Estimated peak horizontal acceleration for SSE is 0.15g and for OBE is 0.06g.	Engineering capability to design for such earthquake loads exists. Seismic evaluation report finalized after discussion with GSI and Soviet Specialists.  Further ground checks have confirmed the assumptions regarding the nearest
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5.	Use of Land		Within in the exclusion zone: 34% of area lies in sea.  Remaining 650-750 ha of land (no forest), mostly private owned, is barren and unirrigated/poorly cultivable.  Extremely limited agriculture.  Annual yield: 20 tons of  millet and 2 tons of cotton Within 10km radius area: 60% of area lies in Sea. Remaining land is barren or used for agriculture.  Annual yield:Paddy 14400 tons, millet 4300 tons, chillir 3000 tonnes, tobacco 380 tons, pulses 830 tons, cotton 250 tons, oil seeds 70 tons (4)	A lime stone quarry of about 70 acres falls within the sterilized zone.  The lease for this area expires in 1994.  Termination of the lease beyond the period has been requested.
6.	Use of Water		Ground water, limited in supply is used for drinking andhas a gradient towards the sea.  No salt pans within 5km. The degree of development of fisheries is as common as in a coastal belt.   In the near by area, indinthakarai, Koothapuzh, Koothankuzhi and Perurranal are the fishing villages within 20km and annual fish produce of about 4000 tons in the area is reported.  About 3900 fisherman in these villages are engaged infishing as per information furnished in 1982.  At Chinneruttar near Kanyakumari, a fishing harbor is being developed. (4)
7.	Disposal of Radioactive waste from the NPP i)Solid waste		Low level solid waste to be buried within exclusion zone in leak-proof RCC vaults/trenches/tile holes.  160-180 m cu per year of  cemented waste including spent absorption materials, 40m cu/yr of compacted waste and 5 m cu/yr of cemented ash will be generated from one reactor (5)	Borewells surrounding the solid waste burial area will be provided for monitoring migration of activities.
	ii)Liquid waste	To be diluted to 2 x 10E-7 micro Ci/ml when discharged into the sea.	Most of the radioactivity in the liquid is removed in the Ion exchange resin and as evaporator concentrate.  After above processing the liquid effluent from two units is estimated as 6000 m Cu/year with activity levels lesser or equal to 10E-9 Ci/l.  This will be further diluted by condenser cooling water to meet the limits allowed by AERB	6000 cusecs of sea water available for dilution while sea water less than 1 cusec required to achieve the specified limits.
	iii)Gas release		Stack height is 100m. Use of high efficiency (0.3 micron) particulate absolute filter will help to comply with authorized limits for particulate activity. The estimated gaseous discharges from two units as following. Nuclides          Avg daily                        Releases                        Ci/day Noble gases--       2220 I-131             30 x 10E-4 Long life             0.012 Nuclides Short life            0.26 nuclides	It is understood that specific detailed information regarding waste and radioactive releases will be available along with PSAR for review
8	Radiological Impact i)during normal operation	AERB prescribed limits	Based on releases vide para7, preliminary estimates indicate very low dose rates 11.24 mrem/yr to the individual at 1.6km exclusion radius.  Both the water and air routes have been considered in the above estimates.
	ii)During design basis accident conditions	10 rem for whole body, 50 rem for child thyroid at exclusion radius	For all design basis accidents adequate engineering safety features shall be  provided to meet the specified requirements.	DBA calculations will be carried out at the design stage
9	Thermal Pollution		Not significant.  Intake and outfall will be well separated.  Depth of sea water and large dilution due to sea will avoid thermal pollution	Model studies will be carried out at CWPRS Pune.  The requirements of Tamilnadu pollution Control Board should be met
10	Storage and Transportation of Fresh and spent fuel		Space for storage of fresh fuel for 5 years plus one core charge will be provided.  Each unit layout can store spent fuel of 5 reactor years in the spent fuel pool located inside the containment.  Besides this space will be available to unload one core inventory.	50 ton of spent fuel will be discharged annually from the 2 reactors.  After adequate cooling inside the pool, it will be shipped to Soviet Union by sea route in hermatically sealed casks.  Special jetty provided within the plant area will be used for transfer of cask to the Soviet ships so that spent fuel remains within plant boundary at all stages during the process of shipment of irradiated.
11	Fuel Reprocessing facility		Reprocessing not planned at this site
12.	Population considerations i) Population within 2km radius exclusion zone	No habitation	No resident population
	ii)Population within 5km radius sterilized zone	Less than 26,000 population density (2/3  state average.	Total population:15,000, 3 villages in this area Kudankulam, Idinthakarai and Erukkanatharam	Tamilnadu legislation to control population growth beyond natural growth within the sterilized zone to be implemented.
	iii)Population within 10km radius zone	No center >10,000	No population centre with more than 10,000 people.  total population 40,842 (1961 census). Population density:130 persons/sq.km
	iv)Population within 30km radius zone	No center >1,00,000	No population center with more than 1 lakh people.  11 centers have population more than 10,000  Nagercoil (at 30 km has a population of 1,71,641.
	v) Population within 50km radius zone		33 population centers with population more than 10,000 (4)
13	Emergency Preparedness Considerations		3 routes exist for possible evacuation.  Schools and other public buildings exist for adequate temporary shelter, nagercoil (30km), Tirunelveli (100km) and Tuticorin (100km) can provide rehabilitation medical facilities and administrative support	Draft proposal on off-site emergency preparedness plans already submitted to AERB.
14.	Additional Statutory requirements of the Central and State Government		Clearance for the following has been obtained: Tamilnadu pollution control Board, Shore protection committee of Tamilnadu Government, State Committee on Environment, Minister of Environment and Forests (Government of India)	Stipulations made in the clearance documents should be adhered to.