NUCLEAR TREMORS

Japan's Fukushima disaster, have brought back the fears we all tried to bury after watching James Bridges's 1971 epic "The China Syndrome’s." It has reminded us the fragility of our planet's energy sources and the safety of our nuclear power plants. Fukushima crisis has prompted a re-examination of the safety net for nuclear power throughout the world. Germany has already announced the shutting down of its 7 old reactors and US is also reviewing some.The catastrophe resulting from the devastating earthquake has raised concerns over the safety of Indian atomic power generators - particularly the proposed Jaitapur which falls in a seismically sensitive area in Maharashtra and others which are mostly in coastline, making them prone to accidents in case tsunami hits India.

Fukushima holds a number of lessons for India as it embarks on a massive nuclear power expansion programme. If the present crisis is the fate of a country whose technological & managerial capabilities are world renowned, where standards are generally maintained strictly to norms, what would happen in a country like India where these are routinely thrown to the winds with a ‘chalta hai’ attitude. We have already witnessed a trailor of this attitude when the Delhi University callously disposed its hazardous equipment resulting in the death of a scrap dealer due to radiations. We have witnessed heated debates in Indian news rooms on the use fullness of the nuclear power generation the past weeks. A strong call has been given by the environmentalist on clean renewable energy. The same concerns were raised around the world after the BP spill was making huge headlines. Since the human memory is short, the BP spill has already been forgotten and the same will happen to Fukushima. The pattern repeats itself all too often: crisis, followed by a spike in consumer interest in renewable energy and a rapid return to normal, as we hop into our big cars and laze around our energy-guzzling homes. In fact, we live this pattern every time we are struck by disasters.

With the rising expectations of winning the cricket world cup and the news of military operations in Libya, the Fukushima story is already through its own catch-and-release consumer interest cycle. Reports of unsafe water and vegetables, resulting in empty racks of bottled water in Japanese superstores should make us question what our own country's plans for nuclear power could mean for our present and the safety of future generations? What did we really learn from Fukushima? We need to discard the hubristic “it-can’t-happen-here” approach and introspect into our own nuclear safety record. We urgently need an independent and credible safety audit of India’s nuclear programme, in which people outside the Department of Atomic Energy participate. There must be an immediate moratorium on further reactor construction, including the untested models like Areva’s European Pressurised Reactor that India is planning to install at Jaitapur in Maharashtra.

Indian consumers also have a responsibility to understand the impact of their energy choices. Fukushima should move us to support suppliers and purchasers of clean, safe and renewable energy from the sun, wind and geothermal sources. This doesn't mean switching to 100 percent solar power, or ceasing all use of nuclear energy. It means balancing our nation's energy portfolio, hedging against risks, uncertainties and rising energy costs over time. We need to change consumer attitudes on renewable energy. The Fukushima crisis is a bad one. But we owe it to ourselves to learn from it and work towards a long-term energy solutions.