nuclear-news

It has been 31 years since the horrendous man-made tragedy in Bhopal. The victims/survivors continue to struggle for justice and reparation, for basic decontamination and cleaning, and expanding medical care beyond the arbitrarily-identified ‘victims’. The genetic impact of the Union Carbide gas leak has been revealed in many scientific studies, but these haven’t led to any serious efforts by the Central or state governments.It has also been five years since the nuclear accident in Japan’s Fukushima and 30 since the Chernobyl disaster in the erstwhile USSR. It’s high time India stopped and thought – are we ready to deal with a serious nuclear accident?

Also read: 2 years on, Kudankulam isn’t working. Where are its cheerleaders now?

Among the first things the Narendra Modi government did after coming to power was to scrap the National Disaster Management Authority. However, it is yet to come up with a better way to respond to calamities and their human consequences.

Preventing and responding to a nuclear accident goes far beyond setting up a new bureaucratic behemoth. Contrary to reassurances given by nuclear engineers and industry insiders, nuclear safety is about much more than just design safety…….

Regulatory nightmare

The Indian nuclear industry is completely non-transparent and unaccountable. Operating directly under the Prime Minister’s Office, it enjoys complete insulation from public and democratic scrutiny.

Serious RTI queries are routinely rejected by deploying the vintage 1962 Atomic Energy Act, evoking a ‘national security’ clause. This is despite the fact that the civilian sector was separated after the watershed moment, the Indo-US Nuclear Deal……..

Liability and compensation……. http://www.catchnews.com/india-news/india-unprepared-what-happens-in-case-of-a-nuclear-bhopal-1449243696.html