Nuclear Environment in India

Nuclear Reactors in the past few years have created a problem and moreover, they are confronted with issues relating to disposal of nuclear waste, catastrophic accidents despite the development of newer reactor designs and economics of nuclear power. After two or more decades there is a need for a revival of nuclear power. This is mainly due to climate change, desire for energy security and volatility in the fossil fuel market.
The potential Impact of nuclear accidents has been a topic of debate practically since the first reactors were constructed. Numerous technical measures were taken to stop these accidents but despite this safety the two most happening nuclear accidents of all time include the CHERNBOYL disaster in 1986 and at TMI in 1979. These nuclear accidents can be supervised if engineering safety is taken i.e. if the reactors are built in such a way in order to prevent the leakage of radioactive material which further leads to Environmental Problems.
The human desire is so intuitive and deeply embedded to see their place secure and controllable that it can be easily led to eliminate the threat to our deluded belief by recons truing apparently unjust events so they appear just. In the era where installing nuclear power capacity is a step towards economic self dependency it has to be implemented by the state but it has to be accepted by the public at large.
The environmental Impact from these nuclear reactors is mainly due to contamination of large areas of land with various radionuclides. Another issue is long-lived high-level radioactive waste. The paper will discuss extensively about the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Plan, which helps to lower the amount of waste by the construction of many fast-neutron reactors to fission the recovered plutonium and other transuranic elements. Environmental Issue related to nuclear power is also in debate on the question that whether it can be a solution to climate change. There has also been a debate on the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions from the complete nuclear fuel chain attributed to uranium mining, enrichment, transport, and waste disposal as well as those from construction, operation, and decommissioning of reactors.
Two primary concerns are the storage of waste products and the discharge of warm water to the environment. The waste product of uranium fission has high likelihood of being a radioactive isotope with several decay daughters each with long half lives. The long term treatment and storage of this radioactive substance is a real problem due to the fact that radiation weakens the structural integrity of any storage container used and therefore increases the risk to the environment.
Disposing of warm fresh water frequently into brackish or salty bay water destabilizes the natural balance of the local sea life. It may be great for some species which can thrive in the warmer and less saline water but can upset a balance if fragile balances exist in the local environment.
Thus, Governments tend to take up three possible positions:
1. Develop other sources of energy:
2. Regard their present nuclear power capacity as necessary during a finite period of transition, to safer alternative energy sources; or
3. Adopt and develop nuclear energy with the conviction that the associated problems and risks can and must, be solved with a level of safety that is both nationally and internationally acceptable.
Thus, our paper will begin with the Positioning of Nuclear Reactors in the Indian Scenario and will move straight away to the Environmental Issues faced by the Nuclear Reactors and their liability towards the safety of the Society. The Paper will also enlighten or discuss the issues relating to Jaitipur Nuclear Power Plant, The area of west Khasi hills to Jadugoda, The case of Haripur: Nuclear Power plants in West Bengal. The paper provides an analysis of people’s way of acceptance and then proposes methods that can be used to make accept the only alternative to fossil fuel and hydro power. The paper would end up by giving Recommendations and Conclusions by relying on the Non-proliferation Treaty and would suggest points on how safety can be maintained.