Fuel Loading Starts at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in India

Indians must be thinking they are not Japanese (Fukushima, 2011-to date), just like Japanese were thinking they were not Russians (Chernobyl, 1986), just like Russians were thinking they were not Americans (Three Mile Island, 1979).

The Russian-made reactors are the first reactors in India that are capable of generating 1,000 MW.

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is located near the very tip of the southern Indian subcontinent.

From The Times of India (9/22/2012):

CHENNAI: Loading of uranium fuel in the first unit of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant started on Wednesday, the Vinayaka Chaturthi day, as the controversial project took a major step towards becoming operational. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) had given its final clearance for loading fuel on Tuesday night.

"Fuel loading has started and it will take at least 10 days for the process to be completed," said a Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) official. Each of the two Russian-made VVER reactors in the plant is capable of generating 1,000MW power.

"The nod for loading uranium-235 fuel was given on Tuesday and the plant authorities must have started loading the next day. There is nothing that could have stopped them from loading fuel in the first unit," AERB chief S S Bajaj told TOI from Vienna. The loading process was started without any publicity as per advice from central and state governments.

The fuel supplied by Russia was moved to the reactor room by scientists last week. Apart from an AERB team, NPCIL officials and Russian engineers witnessed the crucial event, the last major step before commissioning of the plant. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency are likely to visit the plant before the reactor vessel is closed after loading fuel, NPCIL sources said.

Once the fuel loading is complete, the AERB will give clearance for closing the reactor vessel and it would take another 10-15 days for the unit to attain criticality, when power generation will start, said an NPCIL official.

The unit is likely to be synchronised with the power grid by October-end. Though plant officials are confident of meeting the deadline, there are apprehensions as the Russian reactor is the first of its kind in the country and it may take some more time to fully operationalise the unit.

The AERB had given its approval for loading fuel on August 11, but laid stringent conditions to be fulfilled before beginning the process. "After the nod, we also sent a team of officials to give clearance, if required, then and there," said Bajaj. The project, which has faced several problems since being launched, finally cleared the legal hurdles when the Madras high court and later the Supreme Court refused to stop loading of fuel.

This is the first time that a nuclear reactor capable of generating 1,000 MW is being operationalised in the country. As of now, the biggest operational reactors in India are the two 540MW reactors at Tarapur in Maharashtra. All other reactors are smaller in size. The Russian abbreviation VVER stands for water-cooled, water-moderated energy reactor. Apart from Russia, China also has similar reactors.

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Workers Inhaled High Doses of Radioactive Tritium in Indian Nuke Plant During Regular Maintenance

Clearly, the workers were unaware that they were inhaling it as they cleaned out

India is to have 6 fast breeder reactors in the next 15 years, and India is not a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. India, Pakistan, and Israel are the three states who have not signed the treaty.

The article below also says at another nuclear power plant in India in 2009, workers fell ill after drinking tritium-laced water from a water cooler.

From The Indian Express (6/29/2012; emphasis is mine):

Two suffer radioactive exposure at Rawatbhata nuclear plant

Two workers at the Rawatbhata Atomic Power Station in Rajasthan have suffered exposure to high doses of radioactive tritium and are under observation.

The incident took place on June 23 at Unit 5 of the plant during routine maintenance work.

"There was no abnormal release of radioactivity to the environment," Nalinish Nagaich, Executive Director, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited said from Mumbai.

He said there was localised increase in tritium concentration in the building of Reactor-5 due to the opening of the moderator cover gas line where the welding jobs were to be performed.

"All persons involved in the maintenance work were monitored and two were found to have four to five times higher uptake of tritium," Nagaich said. The exposure of other persons is below the annual exposure limit specified, he said.

The incident was reported to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and was investigated by independent committees set up by the regulator and NPCIL.

Tritium is a mildly radioactive type of hydrogen that is formed in the operation of nuclear power plants.

The workers had inhaled it while carrying out maintenance activities in the reactor building and it will come out of the body on its own through urine.

The level of tritium in the body is expected to reduce appreciably within a week.

The NPCIL, in a report on its website, said that the incident occurred when a modification work for assuring a provision of alternate water addition to the moderator system in the Reactor-5 was being carried out.

"The uptake occurred due to inadvertent rise in tritium levels in a localized area of the containment building of the Reactor-5," it said.

In 2009, a large number of workers at Kaiga atomic plant had taken ill after consuming tritium-laced water from a water-cooler.

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India's First Fast Breeder Reactor to Go Critical in Early 2013, Near Chennai

Some poetic justice, I can't help thinking. But this may be exactly what the Japanese government and the corporate elites (particularly in the nuclear industry) want anyway, to be near a successful (if) fast breeder reactor for a change.

India's first prototype fast breeder reactor will go critical in early 2013, with commercial power generation to commence in March 2015 in the township of Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu, about 70 kilometers south of Chennai where the Japanese government-industry joint venture is to set up a "Japan town" where expat Japanese can live in luxury with own hospitals and shopping centers, golf course in a resort setting.

The fast breeder uses liquid sodium as coolant, just like "Monju" in Japan. I am pretty sure that Indians, just like the Japanese before them, think they are different, and won't make stupid mistakes like Americans (TMI), Russians (Chernobyl), and Japanese (Fukushima). Not to mention the costly "Monju" fast breeder project that has had nothing but failures.

Just watch out for those cyclones and tsunamis from future mega earthquakes from Indonesia...

From Zeenews.com (1/21/2012):

Chennai: India's first 500-MW prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR), being set up at Kalpakkam near here, is likely to go critical early next year and commercial generation of electricity is expected in March 2015.

India`s first PFBR to go critical early 2013
"Construction activities will come to close this year-end. Loading of the part fuel is expected to happen during the first quarter of next year and the reactor would go critical," said S.C. Chetal, director at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) that designed the PFBR.

Chetal is also a director at Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd (BHAVINI), a public sector company under the Directorate of Atomic Energy (DAE), that has been given the responsibility to build fast reactor power plants in the country.

When the PFBR is commissioned, power can be produced at a lesser cost than electricity generated from conventional sources.

A breeder reactor is one that breeds more material for a nuclear fission reaction than it consumes. The reaction produces energy that is used in the form of electricity. The Indian fast reactors will be fuelled by a blend of plutonium and uranium oxide.

India`s first PFBR to go critical early 2013
While the reactor will break up (fission) plutonium for power production, it will also breed more plutonium than it consumes. The original plutonium comes from natural uranium.

The surplus plutonium from each fast reactor can be used to set up more such reactors and grow the nuclear capacity in tune with India's energy needs.

Fast reactors form a key in the India's three-stage nuclear power programme, which comprises pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) at the first stage, fast breeder reactors (FBRs) at second and thorium-based systems at the third stage. In 1985, India became the sixth country in the world to have such a technology.

The government has said in parliament that the PFBR is expected to begin commercial production in March 2015. Nuclear scientists though are of the view that commercial generation can happen even before that date.

According to Prabhat Kumar, project director, BHAVINI, the PFBR construction work will be over by September this year and testing of various systems would end by December 2012 or January 2013.

"There is no inordinate time lag between PFBR attaining criticality and it starting commercial production given the fact that it is a newly-designed reactor. With small core/fuel lot of tests on reactor physics would be done. Then by gradually increasing the generation engineering tests would be carried out," a nuclear scientist told IANS, preferring anonymity.

"A year of testing will be sufficient after reactor attained criticality," he remarked.

Asked about the delay in commercial production, Chetal said: "The PFBR is first of its kind in the country and we want to be sure about the functioning of each and every system."

According to him, with the loading of part fuel, the reactor systems will be checked by increasing the power generation in a gradual manner.

He does not agree that the delay in commercial production of PFBR would have an impact on the next two fast reactors that is planned at Kalpakkam.

"The design modifications made in the proposed two reactors will not make them as first of its kind. They will be commercial reactors. Since PFBR is new we want to be sure with its systems," Chetal added.

The government has allotted Rs.250 crore for pre-project activities for two more 500 MW units.

It has sanctioned construction of two more 500 MW fast reactors whose location is yet to be finalised.

IANS

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Japan's Government-Industrial Complex to Create Small "Japan" in Southern India

The news was there on Yomiuri Shinbun on January 5, 2012, but little noticed until someone picked it up and spread on Twitter overnight.

The Japanese government in close collaboration with the big businesses in Japan is to build a city in southern India that will house 50,000 people, with "Japanese-quality" infrastructure including seaside resort, industrial park, hospital, shopping mall, and golf course (of course).

Many on Twitter are speculating that this is part of the plan by the Japan's political and business elites to abandon ship (Japan), and part of the reason for the Noda administration's insistence on the tax hike despite the incipient recession.

While there is a great need for money within Japan to actually rebuild tsunami-devastated areas (not the bogus "decon" projects), the Noda administration has been busy distributing money in Asia. The Bank of Japan has opened multi-billion dollar currency swap lines with India ($15 billion) and South Korea ($70 billion).

From Yomiuri Shinbun (1/5/2012):

日本政府は、官民一体のインフラ（社会基盤）輸出として、インド南部のチェンナイ近郊で、大規模な都市開発を行う方針だ。

The Japanese government, as part of the "infrastructure" export in close cooperation with the private industry, will develop a large-scale township in the suburb of Chennai in southern India.

　中小企業向けの工業団地と、日本人好みのショッピングセンターや病院なども併設した５万人が生活できる街をまるごと「輸出」する。

The plan is to "export" the entire town with an industrial park for mid/small size businesses, shopping centers that are tailored to Japanese taste and hospitals. The town is to accommodate 50,000 people.

　政府の新成長戦略に基づくインフラ輸出で、都市開発事業が具体化するのは初めて。

This will be first case of urban development as part of the infrastructure export, which is the new growth strategy of the Japanese government.

　枝野経済産業相が１０日、チェンナイを訪問し、州政府に支援要請する。

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Edano will visit Chennai on January 10, and ask for the support from the Chennai government.

　みずほコーポレート銀行とプラント大手の日揮が現地開発会社に計４０億円を出資する計画だ。工業団地は２・３平方キロ・メートルで今夏から販売を始め、２０１３年に進出工場の稼働を予定している。

Mizuho Corporate Bank and JGC Corporation will invest 4 billion yen [US$52 million] in the development corporation in Chennai. The industrial park will be 2.3 square kilometer, and the sale will start this summer. The plants that will be housed in the park will start operation in 2013.

　併設される居住地区は２平方キロ・メートルで、インド洋を望む高級マンション群が中心の「リゾート都市」を１３年以降、順次開発する。日系のショッピングセンターやゴルフ場、日本人医師が常駐する病院なども整備する計画だ。日本人駐在員が家族で暮らせる高品質な街づくりを目指す。

The accompanying residential area will be 2 square kilometers. The "resort city" with the expensive condominiums facing the Indian Ocean will be developed starting 2013. Japanese shopping center, golf course, and hospitals with permanently-stationed Japanese doctors will also be built. The plan is to create a high-quality city where Japanese expatriates can live with their families.

The Yomiuri Shinbun makes it sound like it is yet to start. But the talk has been ongoing at least since last summer. Here's the announcement on August 6, 2011 of an Indian tour for people interested in building a community in India where Japanese people live and work in certain large enough numbers.

But the description of this "Japan town" in India - industrial park, resort city with pricey condominiums by the sea, golf course - sounds very familiar to me. Hmmm this is like Singapore.

Well, it turns out that the developer for the whole project is a Singaporean real estate developer Ascendas with large portfolios in China, India, Malaysia, Vietman, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. The countries that this company have businesses with happen to coincide with the countries that the Japanese ministers have frequented since last year.

The Times of India reports on January 11, 2012 the Tamil Nadu government has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Japanese investor group and Ascendas to build a "Japan Town" in Chennai, India:

1,500-acre Japanese township to come up soon on OMR

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Japanese consortium and real estate developer Ascendas to build a 1,500-acre integrated township with residential and industrial facilities for Japanese investors. It will come up 50km south of Chennai along Old Mahabalipuram Road.

Chief minister J Jayalalithaa signed the MoU on Tuesday with the Ascendas Development Trust ( AIDT), which has built an IT park in Taramani, and a consortium comprising corporate finance provider Mizuho Corporate Bank and JGC Corporation, a programme management contractor and investment partner.

Ascendas Group president Chong Siak Ching said, "We are happy to have the support of the government of Tamil Nadu and to work with Japan's leading companies Mizuho and JGC." The government has promised collaboration with local government agencies for the project's implementation. The township is expected to have lifestyle amenities for up to 40,000 people," Ascendas officials said. "The infrastructure will be eco-friendly."

I don't know what "eco-friendly" means but I assume it is about low carbon emission. After all, having spewed radioactive materials all over the northern hemisphere the Japanese government and many Japanese are worried about CO2 and anthropogenic "global warming".

I'm not sure how Indians would feel about 50,000 Japanese living in a totally separate community with high-rise condos and golf course, speaking only Japanese.

As to engaging a Singaporean real estate developer, there is a persistent rumor that ex-Chief Cabinet Minister and current Minister of Economy Yukio Edano evacuated his family to Singapore soon after the accident.

Dr. Haruki Madarame of Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission really spoke the truth when he said "It's all about money". It is all about money, whether "it" is a nuclear power plant, a nuclear waste facility, or a Japanese-only city in southern India.

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All That Glitters - Gold Makes All-Time High

on India rumor, and very real U.S. dollar plunge.

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Update (8:22 PM PST): IMF sold 10 tons of gold to Sri Lanka. The latest gold price from Kitco.com:

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Spot gold hit $1,187.40 per ounce today (still trading). This is a screen capture from a gold site Kitco.com.


The Indian government is rumored to be negotiating with IMF for the purchase of the remainder of IMF's gold (another 200 tonnes). (Here's thestreet.com's article.)

Big-shot hedge fund billionaires (Paul Tudor Jones, John Paulson, David Einhorn) have all gone long on gold. (Read the article on MarketWatch.)

Many dismiss it as "bubble". (Gold was $1045 when this article was published in early October.)

Many think gold is still "undervalued" (here and here and here).

So far, I'm very happy with my investment in gold ('paper' gold, in the form of leveraged ETN - exchange-traded notes). I wish I had had a courage to double the position when it was less than half the price of what it is at today.

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Gold Jumps to All-Time High (Nominal) on IMF Gold Sale News

Gold surges to new record high (11/3/09 AFP via Breitbart)

"Gold surged to a new record high price of 1,085.07 dollars an ounce Tuesday, a day after an announcement of a massive sale of gold by the International Monetary Fund to India.

"Prices in London hit 1,085.07 dollars per troy ounce and New York prices reached 1,084.70 dollars, breaking records set last month.

"The latest surge came a day after the International Monetary Fund announced it sold 200 tonnes of gold to India's central bank over a two-week period last month for a total of 6.7 billion dollars to bolster its finances.

"The IMF said the transaction, which was in the process of being settled, involved daily sales that were phased over a two-week period during October 19-30. "

It was off-the-market transaction. India's gold reserve is now 557.7 tonnes, or 6% of the country's foreign reserve.

It was widely speculated that it would be China who would grab IMF gold. China (1054 tonnes, 0.9% of foreign reserve) may still go for the remaining half. Other contenders include Russia (524 tonnes, 4% of foreign reserve), any of the Gulf states, and South East Asian countries.

During this sales operation, gold price had a minor correction. It went from $1065 on October 19 to $1026 on October 28, and ended October 30 at $1045. So, the much-dreaded correction was mere $39, or 3.7% at most.

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