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Russia insisting that India be liable for any nuclear plant accident

“The Indian Side …shall be …. fully responsible for any damage both within and outside the territory of the Republic of India caused to any person and property as a result of a nuclear incident occurring at the NPP.”……

India-Russia nuclear talks hit liability snag, The Hindu, 30 July 2010, Siddharth Varadarajan Russian firms not to have liability for any accident that may occur in reactors sold to India It’s not just American suppliers, Russia too is now insisting all liability for any accident that may occur in reactors sold to India must rest solely with the Indian operator and not with Russian companies involved in supplying components and knowhow.

At the last round of commercial negotiations held in Moscow recently between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Atomstroyexport for the supply of four additional 1000 MWe reactors at Kudankulam (KK 3,4,5,6), the two countries failed to agree on the issue of liability.
The Indian side wanted the contract to include a ‘right of recourse’ which would allow NPCIL to claim damages from Atomstroyexport in the event of an accident resulting from negligence on the part of the Russian supplier. But Russian officials refused, citing the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) the two countries signed in 2008 to back up their stand that all liability must be channelled on to NPCIL, the operator at Kudankulam.

Indeed, the IGA which India and Russia finalised in February 2008 and signed in December that year is clear on this point. Though the agreement has not been made public, The Hindu has accessed the text. Article 13 states: “The Indian Side and its authorised organisation at any time and at all stages of the construction and operation of the NPP power units to be constructed under the present Agreement shall be the Operator of power units of the NPP at the Kudankulam Site and be fully responsible for any damage both within and outside the territory of the Republic of India caused to any person and property as a result of a nuclear incident occurring at the NPP.”……

the current stand-off is likely to further complicate the Manmohan Singh government’s efforts to pass a nuclear liability law that is acceptable to all domestic stakeholders and foreign partners.

The Hindu : Columns / Siddharth Varadarajan : India-Russia nuclear talks hit liability snag

July 31, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, radiation, reactors, uranium