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Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Fire at Japan nuclear power plant, no radiation leak

(Report dated December 8, 2008)
A fire broke out at a nuclear power plant in northern Japan, at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear complex and a worker was sickened by smoke inhalation. The plant operator said that there was no release of radioactivity. The fire broke out at a turbine facility during welding of pipes aimed at enhancing quake resistance, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said in a statement. The fire was extinguished within one hour and there was no radiation leak from the incident. The cause of the fire is under investigation, the TEPCO said.

The nuclear power complex, which suffered extensive damage in an earthquake last year, has been out of service and undergoing repairs. The incident occurred just days after a Dec. 1-5 inspection by a team from the United Nations nuclear watchdog. The team of 10 experts from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assessed safety measures designed to deal with the continuing threat of earthquakes.

Natural and man-made disasters like larger earthquakes, fire incidents and terrorist attacks can cause serious consequences involving radioactivity leakage and radiation exposure to public. Comprehensive preparedness plans should be in place to respond quickly to such situations with minimum loss to property and human lives.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Indian Association for Radiation Protection – National Conference

The Indian Association for Radiation Protection (IARP) and Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur organized the National Conference (IARPNC-2008) in Jodhpur during November 19-21, 2008. The focal theme of the conference was “Management of Nuclear & Radiological Emergencies”. Other topics related with the radiation protection and safety, were also covered in the conference by way of Invited talks, and Oral/Poster presentations. The conference was well attended by the top DRDO scientists, scientists from Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)family and a Hon’ble Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Delhi. In the end, there was a Panel Discussion on Public awareness regarding safety aspects in peaceful applications of ionising radiations.

The technical proceedings of the conference are brought out as a 464 page, hard-bound volume (Volume 31) of the journal “Radiation Protection and Environment”, published by the IARP. The enquiries for procuring the Proceedings volume may be directed to the Secretary, IARP, C/o, RP&AD, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai 400085, India (Email: bcbhatt2003@yahoo.com).