India Nuclear Energy Injustice

Introduction

Jawahar Nehru, the prime minister, and Homi Bhabha, the nuclear physicist, were the founders of India’s Nuclear Energy program. They first set up the Board of Atomic Research where Bhabha was free to investigate as he pleased and reported directly to the prime minister, his good buddy. While the nuclear program was initially about bombs and military strength, the Atomic Energy Commission and Department of Atomic Energy were founded in 1948 and 1954 respectively as the powerful bureaucracies in charge of increasing India’s peaceful nuclear energy productivity (Gupta 360). The Atomic Energy Commission creates the policy to be approved by the prime minister and to be executed by the Department of Atomic Energy. Planning for the future, Bhabha and Nehru envisioned a small yet powerful group with minimal scrutiny. This future did come to pass and to this day, the Department of Atomic Energy is one of the most powerful ministries in India, acting with little regard to the public or the environment. Due process, Information, and Responsibility are clearly lacking in the Nuclear Energy arena dating back to its military history.

 

Problems

There is a clear division over Nuclear Energy in India. Most political leaders believe nuclear is the savior of India, with the ability to provide clean alternative energy to the masses of Indians without electricity. On the other hand, those masses of Indians are worried about not only disasters, but everyday exposure by workers and those living in proximity. Nuclear power plants create wastewater that can be “contaminated with radioactive tritium and other toxic substances that can leak into nearby groundwater sources” (Sovacool 81). While there have not been any major explosions like the Fukushima disaster, there are documented cases of small radioactive spills that either endanger workers or the surrounding environment.

Radiation is not the only cause for protest. Nuclear Energy also requires rare minerals like Uranium or in India’s case, Thorium. India has one of the largest stocks of Thorium and now is spearheading nuclear plants that run off of thorium to power the fuel cycle. This was all part of Bhabha’s three-stage strategy of becoming energy independent. Stage 1 was to get the regular Uranium nuclear energy plants up and running and Stage 2 was where Thorium conversion was implemented. Stage 3 which has not been achieved yet, perfects the plants to run off of Thorium. Bhabha is considered the father of India’s nuclear energy program and today’s government follows his three-stage strategy religiously (“Understanding Energy” 81). From mining for the actual Thorium to building the enrichment and processing plants, the nuclear reactors themselves, and the waste storage centers, much land is required for a simple nuclear reactor. From start to finish, land is deforested and people are kicked out of their homes as the federal government demands land for the goal of energy security. Not only is the deforestation a huge problem, there is permanent disfigurement of the land through open-pit mining and the constant escape of radioactive substances. Accidents can happen at every step of the way and decommissioning is still very expensive as the costs persist in the environment for a long time and current technology is unavailable for secure storage.

 

Protests

India is very much accustomed to protests. Dating back to Gandhi’s nonviolent protests for independence, people have gathered for various reasons throughout much of Indian history. The Chipko movement protected the natural forests and the Bhopal disaster created further public discontent with companies branding the ideal of development. This genuine discontent with the government is very much justified. Since as early as 1989, people have fought against the opening of nuclear power plants. The plant in Koodankulam located in the southern tip of India was the site of the first battle. The initial deal was signed with Soviet Union but with the dissolution of the Soviet Union along with public protest, construction was halted and it wouldn’t come online till 2013, over 20 years later. The initial 1989 protests were organized by the National Fishermen’s Forum. The 10,000 fishermen, who were actually mostly women, marched on the reactor and were fired on by police. The people were worried that the nuclear power plant would harm the fish in the surrounding area, for some, their livelihood. Simple fasting and peaceful protest were met with harsh resistance by the government.

The UCIL or Uranium Corporation Limited of India has been the right hand of the DAE and one of the worst groups in terms of injustices. An important part of Stage 1, Uranium was needed in high volume and the first mine was located in Jaduguda in Eastern India. This is a very biodiverse location full of pristine forests, wildlife, and indigenous communities, which just so happens to be loaded with rare minerals. In 1996, the UCIL forewent any form of due process as they “razed houses, sacred groves, agricultural lands and graveyards in a village near Jaduguda in the state of Bihar, now Jharkhand, to build a third tailing dam for the uranium mines” (Bhadra 240). These tailing dams are highly radioactive and constantly leaking waste into the air and groundwater. Not only were people kicked out of their homes, pristine lands were destroyed, and toxic radiation has leaked into the environment. For workers and indigenous living around Jaduguda, cancers, rashes and birth defects, are daily challenges from living with exposure to radon gas and gamma radiation. Since the opening of the mines, indigenous have protested the lack of due process, information, and responsibility by the UCIL. JOAR or the Jharkhandi Organisation Against Radiation was one of the groups formed to educate indigenous and to fight against continued development of mines in the Jaduguda area.

 

Progress

It wasn’t until 1997 that the Ministry of Environment and Forest required public hearings for any environmental clearances. The UCIL is now required to participate in these hearings for any expansion to their mining operations. Still, business went on as usual as the UCIL paid to have indigenous left out of the public hearings. Nowadays, the Uranium mines have been closed yet they are still leaking radiation and the DAE is still failing to take responsibility. Mining for various minerals is seen as an excellent form of productivity and development and great for the economy. If this were the case, areas with mining would increase in affluence. Unfortunately, most of the mining districts have become even more impoverished than they already were (“Rich lands” 19). Attempts are now being made to increase the visibility of government projects and the various anti-mining groups have brought legislation against the UCIL. The passing of the Right to Information Act in 2005 and the scolding of the AERB or Atomic Energy Regulatory Board are attempts to increase regulations. While opening new mines is now much harder due to the public hearing requirement, much of the damage has already been done and more attention must be paid to limiting existing damages. While Uranium is no longer needed, abandoned mines still are a huge problem. With an open-pit mine, returning the land to its original state is impossible and radiation will continue to leak out. Responsibility must be taken by the DAE for these lasting consequences and proper payment should be issued to the indigenous communities that suffered due to a lack of due process and information.

 

 

 

Works Cited

Bhadra, Monamie. “Fighting Nuclear Energy, Fighting for India’s Democracy.” Science as Culture 22.2 (2013): 238-46. Print.

Gupta, Kuhika. “A Comparative Policy Analysis of Coalition Strategies: Case Studies of Nuclear Energy and Forest Management in India.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis 16.4 (2014): 356-72. Print.

“Rich lands, poor people.” CSE India. Centre for Science and Environment, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2015. <http://cseindia.org/mining/pdf/miningpub.pdf>.

Sovacool, Benjamin K., and Michael H. Dworkin. Global Energy Justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014. Print.

“Understanding Energy Challenges in India.” International Energy Agency. OECD/IEA, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2015. <http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/india_study_final_web.pdf>.