Kudankulam Village Panchayat adopts resolution against AFR facility

What is the News?

Kudankulam Village Panchayat has passed a resolution against the construction of the ‘Away From Reactor (AFR) facility at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) site for storing nuclear waste.

What is the Away From Reactor(AFR) Facility?

The storage of spent fuel in a nuclear power plant is two-fold:

One facility is located within the reactor building/service building, generally known as the Spent Fuel Storage Pool.

Another is located away from the reactor, called the Away From Reactor (AFR) Spent Fuel Storage Facility, but within the plant’s premises.

The spent fuel storage pool inside the reactor building has a limited capacity and is used for immediate storage of the spent fuel removed from the reactor during refuelling.

The fuel remains in the pool initially for a few years for it to be cooled sufficiently before it is shifted to the AFR facility. The AFR Facility is functionally similar to the ‘Spent Fuel Pool’ inside the reactor building, except in terms of capacity.

Why is the State Government and Village Panchayat opposing the facility?

Tamil Nadu Government and village panchayat are of the view that the AFR site would lead to radioactive pollution (spread of radioactivity) and spoil the groundwater, which is used for drinking water and irrigation.

What are the Central Government’s arguments in favour of the facility?

The proposed AFR facility at Kudankulam Nuclear Plant is for storage of spent fuel only and not for storage of nuclear waste, as perceived by a few.

The design of the facility ensures that there would not be any adverse impact of the facility on the personnel, the public and the environment.

Source: This post is based on the article “Kudankulam Village Panchayat adopts resolution against AFR facility” published in The Hindu on 11th Mar 2022.