window._taboola = window._taboola || [];_taboola.push({mode: 'thumbnails-mid-article',container: 'taboola-mid-article-thumbnails',placement: 'Mid Article Thumbnails',target_type: 'mix'});
let eventFire = false;
window.addEventListener('scroll', () => {
if (window.taboolaInt && !eventFire) {
setTimeout(() => {
ga('send', 'event', 'Mid Article Thumbnails', 'PV');
ga('set', 'dimension22', "Taboola Yes");
}, 4000);
eventFire = true;
}
});
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];_taboola.push({mode: 'thumbnails-a', container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails', placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails', target_type: 'mix' });Latest News
Marking a step forward in commissioning of the Koodankulam
atomic plant, India's nuclear regulator today gave a go ahead for loading of
fuel for the first unit of project which has been delayed due to controversies."Yes, based on the recommendations of the safety
committee, we have granted permission for fuel loading," Atomic Energy
Regulatory Board (AERB) Chairman S S Bajaj told PTI from Mumbai.With the AERB go-ahead, Nuclear Power Corporation of India
Limited (NPCIL) will start loading 163 fuel assemblies into the first 1,000 MW unit
of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project, which is being developed with Russian
collaboration.Shiv Abhilash Bhardwaj, Director (Technical) of NPCIL, said
the fuel loading would commence in 10-15 days.Experts said that NPCIL would take about a week's time to
load the fuel assemblies, each 4.57 metres long, into the reactor core and
conduct the first approach to criticality.The 1,000 MW Russian reactor will use enriched uranium as
fuel and light water as coolant and moderator.The application of NPCIL and reports of the safety
committees were reviewed at a meeting of the AERB yesterday.The initial fuel loading and first approach to criticality
will be carried out under the supervision of AERB officials who will ensure all
safety measures to be in place and also verify the compliance to AERB approved
procedures.After the loading of fuel, the NPCIL will again come to AERB
to seek clearance in phase-wise increase of reactor power level. The clearance to increase reactor power will be granted
after multi-tier safety review process involving checking compliance to various
pre-requisites, review of the various commissioning procedures, results,
inspection reports.It would take approximately three weeks after fuel loading
for the first unit to achieve criticality.The first unit is expected to be commissioned by late
September and would be connected to the grid in mid-October.KKNPP Unit 1 would be the first reactor in the country to
achieve criticality after the Fukushima nuclear accident in March last year.In the wake of Fukushima accident, AERB had carried out
safety reassessment of KKNPP's capacity to withstand extreme external events
and non-availability of power supply for an extended period.After removal of the dummy fuel, KNPP officials had earlier
sent reports on the status of the plant and were waiting for the nod from the
nuclear regulator for fuel loading.Last week, Minister of State in the PMO V Narayanasamy told
Parliament that the AERB had not found any defects in the reactor pressure
vessel of the Koodankulam plant."... The inspection of the reactor pressure vessel has
been completed in Unit-1. The report of inspection has been submitted to the
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). No defects have been noticed during final
inspections," Narayanasamy had said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is
building two 1,000 MW power plants at a cost of Rs 17,270 crore with Russian
collaboration.
Comments
0 comment