Indian Power Workers Drink Radioactive Water

Water Glows at Kaiga Nuke Plant, India

Tritium Leaked into Drinking Water at India’s 660 MW Kaiga Nuclear Plant

Indian authorities revealed that radioactive substance had leaked into drinking water at a nuclear power plant in southwest India.

Officials at the high-security nuclear power plant in Kaiga, near Bangalore, said the leak may have been deliberate. – Photo: AP. Image may be subject to copyright.

Radioactive tritium leaked into a water cooler at Kaiga nuclear power plant in Uttar Kannada district in Karnataka, exposing at least 55 workers who drank the contaminated water to high doses of radiation.

The authorities at the plant in Kaiga claimed that the leak in high-security plant may have been deliberate. Kaiga nuclear power plant  is located on the southwest coast of India about 450 km from Bangalore.

“Mischief is not ruled out. Investigations are on,” the director of the plant, J.P. Gupta, told Reuters.

The workers were reportedly back at the plant, Gupta said. “This incident has (in) no way affected (the) public, safety, health and environment.”

The dead fish may tell a different story, however.

Later, the Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar, reportedly speaking on the national TV, called the incident “an act of sabotage” and blamed it on “an insider who has played mischief.”

Kaiga plant was closed in October for “routine maintenance,” but will  reopen soon, the authorities said.

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Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant Location Map.

India’s Nuclear Power Industry:

Nuclear power is India’s fourth-largest source of electricity, preceded by thermal (fossil fuels), hydro and renewable sources. India’s existing 17 nuclear power plants generate about 4,120 MW of electricity with at least 6 other under construction with a projected capacity of about 3,160 MW.

India’s Electricity Generation Capacity (MW) by Type of Power Plants. Date: 31 December 2008. Source of Data:  India Ministry of Power – CEA. Chart by FEWW.

India’s Nuclear Power Plants

• Tarapur Atomic Power Station, Tarapur, Maharashtra
• Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, Rawatbhata, Rajasthan
• Madras Atomic Power Station, Kalpakkam, Tamilnadu
• Narora Atomic Power Station, Narora, Uttar Pradesh
• Kakrapar Atomic Power Station, Kakrapar, Gujarat
• Kaiga Atomic Power Station, Kaiga, Karnataka
• Jaitapur nuclear power project — Maharashtra
• Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant
• Mumbai — Bhabha Atomic Research Centre

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