Technology is never a guarantee to safety

Anuj Wankhede

Anuj is a Masters in Management Studies, an avid environmentalist who believes that bigger the problem, bigger the opportunity.

He can be reached at benchmark.anuj (at)gmail.com and 9757475875

“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
– Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes

When I repeatedly hear about ’Nuclear Safety’ in India and its track record, I’m a bit perplexed. After all, nuclear safety is an oxymoron.

I have written here refuting these claims and provided documentary proof about the same. It seems to have worked because, earlier, only the PM and the NPCIL were touting “nuclear safety.” Now, his whole office, its staff and even the gardener there seems to toe this line!

In this context, would it not be far better to have a nuclear reactor within the parliament or Rashtrapati Bhavan premises? After all, Delhi is suffering from crippling power cuts. Take the ‘safest form of energy’ and use as much power as you need!!

I know it will not happen, because they know the facts and they will not accept it. In 2010, it was announced with much fanfare that Sansad Bhavan would go “green” with Solar PV panels and biogas plants for backup power. There does not appear to be anything done after that. Not that one expects much, just wishful thinking.

A lot of media attention is focused these days on the German green revolution. The fact is they threw the nuclear option out and opted for a mix of solar, wind and other renewables. What has been less highlighted is the fact that Germany was on the path of solar much before Fukushima happened. Almost since the past five years prior to Fukushima, Germany had changed its Electricity Act and allowed private operators to connect to the grid. They provided subsidies to the private sector investing in renewable energy. And given this policy push, a whole host of companies came forward to take advantages of the tax breaks and the profits. THE INFRASTRUCTURE WAS IN PLACE! In fact, Germany is now slowly taking away the subsidy it gave to set up this infrastructure! Now that things are in place, Germany can well afford to let its nuclear industry wither away, like what is happening with the giant companies like RWE and E.ON. Fukushima was just a tipping point for Germany. The decision had been made years back and had been put in place with typical German precision! Safety, economics, sustainability were all thought about proactively and not post-facto in Germany.