Sri Lanka - India talks on Kudankulam nuclear plant

India has agreed to enter into a broad dialogue with Sri Lanka on the safety aspects of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Southern India, Indian media reported yesterday.

The reports said that the dialogue mechanism between the two nations for cooperation on nuclear issues will include talks on Kudankulam safety issues when a Sri Lankan committee visits India later this year. The talks will focus especially on the safety concerns surrounding the pressurised water reactors of the nuclear plant.”

The safety aspect will be a part of the broader agenda for talks over cooperation in nuclear energy but we are already telling them that India will abide by all international conventions over nuclear safety at Kudankulam,’’ the Times of India quoted an Indian official as saying.” India is party to the Convention on Nuclear Safety (1994), Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident (1986) and the Convention on Assistance in the case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency and is fully aware of, and complies with, its obligations under these conventions,” the Indian High Commission in Colombo said in an earlier news release.”

The Kudankulam nuclear plant is a state-of-the-art plant that is compliant with the highest safety standards available in the nuclear industry today.

India assigns utmost attention to nuclear and radiation safety, including the safety of operating personnel, public as well as the environment,” it said.

The plant is in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district, around 250 Kms from Mannar in Northern Sri Lanka. Many Indian political leaders have raised concerns over the safety aspects of the nuclear power plant.

Sri Lankan authorities are exploring the possibility of installing nuclear early warning towers or similar devices along the northwestern coastal belt and in the North in case of an accidental leak of radioactive material at nuclear plants in the region.