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Nuclear Power Corporation of India ordered to make Kudankulam safety reports public

Make public safety reports of Kudankulam nuclear project: CIC DNA, May 1, 2012, The reports relating to safety, site evaluation and environmental impact assessment of controversial Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant should be made public, the Central Information Commission has held.

The Commission also directed the Nuclear Power Corporation of India to publish safety analysis reports, site evaluation reports and environmental impact assessment reports prepared by the Department, before setting up any nuclear plant, within 30 days of receiving them as part of mandatory disclosure clause of the RTI Act.

The transparency panel, however, allowed the Corporation to sever
portions which could be exempted from disclosure under the provisions
of the RTI Act but only after recording reasons and exemption clauses
and publish the reports after severing the parts claimed to be exempt.

“There should be a declaration on the website about the parts that
have been severed, and the reasons for claiming exemptions as per the
provisions of the RTI Act,” Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi
has held.

Hearing the plea of activist SP Udayakumar, who sought the copies of
Safety Analysis Report, Site Evaluation Report and Environment Impact
Assessment report, for reactor I and II of the plant, Gandhi said the
disclosure of the reports would provide a comprehensive perspective to
the citizens about holistic understanding of the KKNP Project
including environment, health and safety concerns…….
The Nuclear Power Corporation had objected to the disclosure citing
exemption clauses section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act which allow it to
withold information related to security, strategic and scientific
interests of the State and section 8 (1)(d) as disclosure could
comprised commercial confidence.

Gandhi said officials could not explain how disclosure would come
under these exemption provisions.

Udayakumar argued that such a disclosure would serve larger public
interest and cited examples of USA, UK and Canada where the reports of
the same nature were classified as public documents in order to ensure
public debate.

Agreeing with the view, Gandhi said “where world wide, site evaluation
and safety analysis reports of nuclear power plants and installations
are being put in public domain to elicit public views, India can have
no reason to treat its citizens differently.”

“If the Government has reasons to ignore the reports, these should
logically be put before people. Otherwise, citizens would believe that
the Government’s decisions are arbitrary or corrupt. Such a trust
deficit would never be in the interest of the nation,” he said.

Gandhi said any nuclear installation or site must be designed in a way
to account for any unforeseen accidents and natural hazards.

“This is the basic purpose of a safety evaluation and citizens have a
right to know what safety assessment has been of the KKNP Project I &
II,” Gandhi said while ordering disclosure of the reports.

The Information Commissioner said site evaluation report not only
provides the technical basis of the safety analysis report, it
contains technical information useful for fulfilling the environmental
impact assessment for radiological hazards.

“Therefore, it follows that the site evaluation report forms an
important basis of the environmental impact assessment report as well.
This will enable the public to obtain a comprehensive understanding of
the likely environmental impact of the KKNP Project,” he said.

He said given the serious implications of the internal and external
safety factors relating to nuclear reactors there is a great public
interest in disclosing the safety evaluation report of the KKNP
Project. …. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_make-public-safety-reports-of-kudankulam-nuclear-project-cic_1683228

May 2, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, secrets,lies and civil liberties