NUCLEAR POWER-A Warning to Heed

A Warning to Heed WHATEVER be the final report on the fire which devastated the power generating section of the Narora atomic power plant, the incident cannot be allowed to be swept under the carpet. Even if one accepts the contention of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) that the events in fact prove the reliability of the fail-safe systems devised for the nuclear power reactor, the fact is that the environment within which sophisticated systems such as this function cannot be rendered entirely safe because there are too many imponderables. This is why the risks associated with nuclear power cannot be dealt with in conventional terms. And this is also why the risks far outweigh the benefits in countries like India.