JOIN USA team from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) on Saturday arrived at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) to examine the cause of heavy water leakage from one of the two reactors.
The leak has forced authorities to shut down the plant and declare an internal emergency at the facility.
One of the two 220 MW units of KAPS was shutdown on Friday after leakage of heavy water, used to cool off the nuclear reactor core, reported around 9 am. A site emergency was also declared as a measure of safety, although officials said there was no radioactive leak and all the workers, as well as people in the surrounding areas were safe.
Power generation in the nuclear plant remained disrupted for the second day on Saturday. “We have carried out a thorough radiation survey and there is no change in radiation level at the plant and outside the plant. There is no increase in radiation level,” KAPS site director Lalit K Jain said.
This is the second time KAPS authorities had to declare a site emergency. The first such incident was declared in June 1994, leading to evacuation of staff and people residing in nearby villages after flood water entered the condenser pit and turbine building basement.
“With the unit shut down, our focus will be to identify the cause of leakage and speedy normalisation of the plant with the help of two of the experts from AERB,” Jain said.