THE HINDU dated 10.03.2005
Foundation work for Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor under way
By T.S.Subramanian
CHENNAI, MARCH 9. Construction of the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam has resumed with the preparatory work on the foundation erection under way, according to Baldev Raj, Director, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR).
The 18-metre deep foundation pit of the PFBR was flooded with six-metre deep sea water when the tsunami struck the Kalpakkam coast on December 26 last year. Concreting had then been done to a height of 1.2 metres in the foundation.
The preparatory work on the foundation construction which has begun included the chipping of the top 10 mm of the surface layer of the 1.2 metre tall concrete to remove salt incursion from sea water and laying fresh water proofing on it.
This 1.2-metre concreting would, however, be abandoned and a fresh 1.2 metre tall concreting would be done on top of it. This would raise the height of the reactor building by 1.2 metres, which would be useful in case of any future tsunami, Dr. Baldev Raj told a press conference here today.
Prabhat Kumar, Project Director, PFBR, said it was "a Herculean task" to restore the foundation pit after it was flooded. Six-metre deep of water had to be pumped out. Sludge, foreign material, and submerged motors, generators and concrete mixers were removed.
A high-level national committee headed by Dr. Baldev Raj and constituted by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited had concluded that the PFBR had enough elevation to meet future tsunamis and the siting of the adjacent Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) was all right.
Alarm system
A wireless alarm sounding system would be installed soon in schools, hospitals, churches, residential areas etc. at the Kalpakkam township to warn people of possible cyclones or tsunamis, Dr. Baldev Raj said. This would be based on the message received from the Meteorological Department. This was not a tsunami detection system but an advance warning system. Since the BSNL network was the only major communication link available between Kalpakkam and other places, an alternate solar powered high frequency communication system would be installed within three months.
Thirty-seven persons including four employees of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and their family members lost their lives in the township, which was badly affected by the tsunami. About 1,000 houses were damaged. Most of the affected residents had returned to their quarters.
On the recommendations of the national committee, a boundary wall made of reinforced cement concrete would be built on a four-km stretch of coast in the township to mitigate the effect of any future tsunami waves. This would be strengthened by dykes, boulders and plantations. About 35,000 saplings had already been planted. Coastal parks would be set up in consultation with the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. Hospitals and schools were functioning normally.