Massive Legal Win for Kebaowek First Nation And Allies Against Proposed
Nuclear Waste Dump in Canada
-
Federal Court of Appeal Upholds Victory for Kebaowek First Nation
and Allies in “Species at Risk” Case Against Chalk River Nuclear Waste
Project Kebaow...
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WikiLeaks on Pfizer, Monsanto, Chromite Mines etc
Written By krishna on Wednesday, December 22, 2010 | 11:04 PM
WikiLeaks has revealed that Pfizer had hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on the Attorney General of Nigeria. It has also disclosed how George Bush's ambassador to France planned to "retaliate" against the country for standing up to Monsanto.
Secret US cables released by WikiLeaks has revealed that Chromite mines in Orissa and Karnataka, besides a factory in Gujarat that manufactures critical chemotherapy drugs are among global "key infrastructures" which could pose a danger to America’s national security if they come under terrorist attack. US secret list includes three infrastructure projects from India- "Orissa (chromite mines), Karnataka (chromite mines) and Generamedix Gujurat" that manufactures "chemotherapy agents, including florouracil and methotrexate."
This finds mention in US secret documents created by US Secretary of State, revealing their critical infrastructure and key resources located aboard. The documents were released on December 5, 2010. http://213.251.145.96/cable/2009/02/09STATE15113.html on The document was created on 18 February, 2009. In the US chromium resources are mostly in Stillwater complex in Montana. US has 120, 000 tonnes of shipping grade Chromium as per Mineral Commodity Summaries, 2008. Chromite was first discovered in 1890 in the Stillwater region and developed in 1905. The demand for Chromite rose during the First World War. Montana was the 41st state of USA situated in the West. It became a state in 1889. Montana has an underground hard-rock chromite deposit, but it's not economical to mine because of its low grade and limited transportation. As per US Geological Survey, Chromite deposits are available in the central part Stillwater Complex, Sweet Grass County, Montana. The USA, Mexico and Canada do not produce chromite. The Stillwater Complex in Montana is the biggest chromium deposit in the US but it is not producing chromite ore at present. About 80% of world production of chromite comes from India, Kazakhstan, Turkey and southern Africa. In the western hemisphere, chromite ore is produced only in Brazil and Cuba.
Chromium is alloyed (that is, mixed) with steel to make itcorrosion resistant or harder. An example is its use in the production of stainless steel, a bright, shiny steel that is strong and resistant to oxidation (rust). Stainless steel production consumes most of the chromium produced annually. Chromium is also used to make heat-resisting steel. So-called "superalloys" use chromium and have strategic military applications. Chromium also has some use in the manufacture of certain chemicals. For example, chromium-bearing chemicals are used in the process of tanning leather. Chromium compounds are also used in the textiles industries to produce a yellow color.
India has 57000, 000 tonnes of it. Sukinda Valley, in the State of Orissa, contains most of India's chromite ore deposits and one of the largest open cast chromite ore mines in the world. Twelve mines continue to operate without any environmental management plans and over 30 million tons of waste rock are spread over the surrounding areas and the Brahmani riverbanks. Untreated water is discharged by the mines into the river. This area is also flood-prone, resulting in further contamination of the waterways. Approximately 70% of the surface water and 60% of the drinking water contains hexavalent chromium at more than double national and international standards and levels of over 20 times the standard have been recorded. The Brahmani River is the only water source for the residents and treatment facilities are extremely limited. The State Pollution Control Board has conceded that the water quality at various locations suffers from very high levels of contamination. The air and soils are also heavily impacted.
One of the Chromite Mines have been sitiuatied of common boundary of TISCO Sukinda Chromite Mines i.e.,Kaliapani Chromite Mines of M/s.Balasore Alloys Limited of ISPAT Group containing 64 Heactors, is not seen in Google earth viewer.
The summary of the Environment Impact Assessment and Environment Management Plan for South Kaliapani Chromite Mining in Sukinda ultramafic complex, Sukinda, Jajpur, Orissa claims that benefits of the project include expansion programme of OMCL, strong employment generation potential, peripheral development and creation of social capital, boost in agricultural sector and increased awareness for education etc.
The pollution from hexavalent chromium whose lies in the chromite mines has turned Sukhinda into one of the world's most polluted places in the world. Waste rock and untreated water from the mines adversely impacts local water supplies. The air and soils in the region is severely contaminated. The health impact on the residents suffer from gastrointestinal bleeding, tuberculosis, and asthma. The cases of infertility and birth defects are common in the area. While routine actions have been taken by mining companies involved. The remediation required a determined state to act to set matters right.
Management of waste dump in Sukinda valley is the major environmental concern. These overburden dumps modify the land topography, affect the drainage system, prevent natural succession of plant growth resulting in acute problems of soil erosion and environmental pollution.
Normally, waste dumps are maintained up to height of 20-30 m with 30 m terrace width and slope angle of 25 to 35 degrees. Toe-wall, garland drain, terracing, plantation along the slope are some common measures being adopted for waste dump management. Neem, Chakunda, Accacia, Mahul, Sal, Mango, Cashew, Arjuna, Babul, Amla, Bahada, Jamun, etc. are the species used in
afforestation over dead dump slopes, dump terrace, along the haul roads and safety zones in the mines. The major source of environmental pollution in Orissa is the hexavalent chromium generation, especially in case of friable ore. The hexavalent chromium contamination of the local water bodies is a major concern because of its carcinogenic properties. The pumped out water from the mine needs to be doused with ferrous sulphate solution before being discharged. This converts hexavalent chromium to trivalent chromium.
Environmental problems related to chromium processing are limited. Chromium, in its trivalent
(Cr3+) oxidation state as found in chromite and other natural minerals, is an essential nutrient. Its principal function is to maintain normal glucose metabolism. Chromium deficiencies can lead to problems in insulin circulation as well as possible risk of cardiovascular disease. Hexavalent form of chromium (Cr 6+) which is used widely in chemical compounds has been implicated in skin rashes and lung cancer.
Karnataka too is endowed with rich deposits of Chromite in Hassan. Chromite ore body extending to 300 m depth is mined by underground method since 1967 at Byrapur in Hassan district of Karnataka. Here cut-and-fill method of stoping is practised.
An area around Thagadur village of Karnataka has grabbed US attention for its chromite reserves. The Mysore Minerals Limited (MML) has three chromite mines in Jamboor, Thagadur and Bhaktarahalli. The mining in these three villages began in the 1990s, soon after the Indian market opened up to the world. The company, which was on the verge of closure due to the entry of private players into granite mining, was directed by the Centre to mine for chromite in Channarayapatna taluk. This opened up new horizons for the sick company. The MML is also hunting for chromite reserves in various places like Moodbidri in Mangalore taluk, Konaje, Karkala and other places. It closed mining operations for the premium ‘Hassan green granite’ as chromite had more profits. A top official of MML said that the company had enough reserves to sustain mining for more than 50 years. “This area is rich with chromite reserves and it is a high value mineral. All the three sites are export oriented units, the only such status given to all the mining operations taken up by the MML,” said the official.
He said that the company had only one bulk chromite buyer in Gujarat, which uses it for pharmaceutical purposes. The final product of chromite — florouracil and methotrexate — are used for the production of chemotherapy drugs by some top pharmaceutical companies in the US. “Our Gujarat-based agent told us that there are many uses of the downstream projects which have been kept out of the public domain,” said the official.
Another engineer of the company said that long distance underground and undersea cables for high speed transmission of data, voice and codes too use a great deal of chromite downstream products.
DNA newspaper reported on December 8, 2010 that B N Varaprasad Reddy, tahsildar, Channarayapatna has informed that MML was meeting all the safety measures as stipulated by the Indian Mining Act. The demand for chromite saw an annual increase of 4% between 2000 and 2008, with ferrochrome consumption increasing by the same amount. However, the onset of the economic downturn from mid-2008 saw the demand for chromite plummet.
It is strange that the newspaper did not deem it appropriate to check with the villagers, Karnataka Pollution Control Board, environmental groups or the local leaders.
Chromite is an oxide of chromium and iron. Chromite is the only commercial source of chromium. It occurs as a primary mineral of ultrabasic igneous rocks and is normally associated with peridotite, pyroxenite, dunite and serpentinite. World-wide, high-alumina chromite, largely from podiform deposits is used in refractory applications while iron-rich ores, largely from stratiform deposits are utilised in metallurgical and chemical applications. As per UNFC system, total resources of chromite in the country as on 1.4.2005 are estimated at 213 million tonnes, comprising 66 million tonnes reserves (31%) and 147 million tonnes remaining resources (69%). More than 95% resources of chromite are located in Orissa, mostly in the Sukinda valley in Cuttack and Jajpur districts. Minor deposits are scattered over Manipur, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Orissa continued to be the major producing State of chromite, accounting for 99.85 % of the total production during 2007-08 and the remaining 0.15% was reported from Karnataka. The average daily employment of labour in chromite mines during 2007-08 was 5,371 as against 6,157 in the previous year. Chromite is mined mostly by opencast method in the country. In Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC)'s opencast mines, the bench height is less than 6 m and the bench width is more than 10 m in mechanised quarry. Underground mines are confined to Byrapur in Karnataka and Boula and Kathpal mines in Orissa. In Sukinda valley, chromite has been mined to a maximum depth of about 63 m by open cast method. The maximum overburden to ore ratio is 15:1. In Sukinda area, deposits of chromite lying below 100 m depth may have to be exploited by highly specialised underground mining techniques.
OMC's chromite mines at Kaliapani, Sukrangi, Kalarangi, Kathpal and Bangur, all in Orissa, make it one of the leading chromite producers of the country. Chrome ore of very high grade is produced here. The chrome ore beneficiation plant at Kaliapani with a total production capacity of 84,000 tonnes concentrates is designed to upgrade low-grade ore. Keeping in view the increasing demand for chrome concentrates, OMC is in the process of doubling the capacity of this plant. Transportation of the ore from mines to railway sidings is done through trucks and from railway sidings to various consuming centres by railway wagons.
The reported consumption of chromite in the organised sector increased by 6% from 1,784,800 tonnes in 2006-07 to 1,889,400 tonnes in 2007-08. It was mostly in ferro-alloys/charge-chrome industry.
In metallurgy, chromite is used in the manufacture of chromium metal and various alloys with iron, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum, etc. Chromium imparts additional strength, hardness and toughness to its alloys. It also shows resistance to corrosion to steel abrasion, reduces oxidation and flow of electricity. Stainless steel, high-speed tool steel, corrosion and heat resistant steel are some important varieties of chromium steel. Ferro-chrome is of two types: (i) high carbon (containing 4-8% carbon) and (ii) low carbon (containing up to 2% carbon). The amount of chromium used in steel varies with the purpose. Low chromium steels (less than 5% chromium and small amount of nickel) are used in rails, automobiles, armour plates, armour piercing projectiles, etc. Intermediate chromium steels are used in high-speed tools, valves for engines and other equipment requiring resistance to abrasion, corrosion and oxidation. Chromium steels include stainless steels (12-18% Cr) and super-stainless steels (12-30% Cr and 7-10% Ni) which are used for cutlery and cooking utensils and in aircraft and high-speed trains, respectively. Chromium (17%) with iron (83%) is also used as ferritic stainless steel to manufacture coins.
Chromite is used in refractory industry because of its resistance to corrosion, high temperature and ability to withstand sudden temperature changes, and its chemically neutral character. The ore is used in the form of lumps, bricks or cement in linings, specially of steel furnaces. Chromite is used for manufacturing important chromium compounds like chromates and bichromates of sodium and potassium, chromium pigments like chromic oxide green and chromic acid which, in
turn, are used in chromium-plating solution.
Important loading stations for chromite in the country are Jajpur-Keonjhar Road in Orissa and Tiptur in Karnataka. Export of chromite is through Paradip port. However, small quantities of lumpy chromite ore are imported to meet the needs of ferro-alloys industry in the country.
Development of substitutes of chromium customer appeal of the chromium. There are no substitutes in the stainless steel or super-alloys. Boron, manganese, nickel and molybdenum can be substituted in alloy steels and cast irons. Base metal alloys can sometimes be used in place of stainless steel. Dolomite is an alternative for some refractory bricks. Cadmium yellow is one of the several alternative pigments. However, it is not environmentally acceptable and nickel and zinc are possible substitutes for the protection of decorative coatings.
An Expert Committee constituted by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India recommended the need of detailed exploration in all the potential areas in Orissa, Karnataka and ophiolite belt of North-Eastern region with a view to prognosticate resources to a depth of 500 m in Sukinda belt
and estimation of resources in all other potential areas. One does not know whether the Expert Committee will examine the substitutes of Chromite.
Chromium is a hard, bluishmetallic element (Cr) with an atomic number of 24. Chromium was discovered in an ore that geologists now call chromite (FeCr2O4, ferrous chromic oxide). Chromite is formed in an igneous environment.
BANI Seeks World Opinion Against Quebec Government
Written By krishna on Thursday, December 16, 2010 | 6:47 AM
Press Release
BANI Seeks World Opinion Against Quebec Government
TO STOP ASBESTOS MINING IN QUEBEC
New Delhi 16/12/2010: Quebec government, Canada is all set to decide whether to give $58 million financing to an anonymous consortium of foreign investors to open the Jeffrey mine to export 5 million tonnes of asbestos to India and other Asian countries over the next quarter century. India is one of the biggest consumers of asbestos mined in Quebec, a province of Canada although there is ban on asbestos mining in India. In India, Human Rights Commission has ruled that exposing human beings to asbestos fibers is an act human rights violation.
Quebec Premier, Jean Charest must be made to listen to public health experts of the world and his own medical experts and not finance a new generation of asbestos disease in India and other Asian countries. This brings unprecedented dishonor on Quebec in particular and Canada in general.
Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) appeals to the world civil society, global academia and world media to act in right earnest to persuade Quebec government to desist from promoting and financing mining and trade in killer fibers of asbestos that has been banned in 52 countries. What is poisonous in these countries cannot be inhumanly presented as non-poisonous in India and other Asian countries. Promoting mining and trade in lung cancer causing fibers of Quebec asbestos constitutes an act of barbarism.
BANI makes a solemn appeal to the legislators of the world to use their persuasive power to stop Quebec Premier Charest from doing the indefensible act of financing an anonymous consortium of foreign investors to open the Jeffrey asbestos mine. This will lead to an unprecedented epidemic of preventable but incurable asbestos related diseases due to export of 5 million tonnes of asbestos to India and other Asian countries in the coming years.
BANI urges Indian legislators to ensure immediate ban on asbestos trade from Canada and other countries in supreme public interest to protect present and future generation of Indians. Indian government must abandon its negotiations for a free trade agreement with Canada unless Quebec stops its naked pursuit for blind profit at the cost of asbestos victims. BANI has written letters to the Speaker of Canadian House of Commons, Yvon Vallières, President of the National Assembly of Québec and the heads of both the houses of Indian Parliament in this regard. The letter is available on BANI's blog. Vallières is also President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF).
For Details: Gopal Krishna, Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI), Mb:07739308480, 09818089660, E-mail: krishna2777@gmail.com, Web: banasbestosindia.blogspot.com
To
Mr Yvon Vallières,
President
National Assembly of Québec
Mr Yvon Vallières,
President
National Assembly of Québec
Québec City
Subject-BANI Appeal to National Assembly of Québec on Asbestos Mining
Sir,
With due respect this is with reference to Quebec government's role in giving $58 million financing to an anonymous consortium of foreign investors to open the Jeffrey mine to export 5 million tonnes of asbestos to India and other Asian countries over the next quarter century. India is one of the biggest consumers of asbestos mined in Quebec, a province of Canada although there is ban on asbestos mining in India. In India, Human Rights Commission has ruled that exposing human beings to asbestos fibers is an act human rights violation.
On behalf of Indian citizens, I wish to request you to persuade Quebec Premier, Jean Charest to listen to public health experts of the world and his own medical experts and not to finance a new generation of asbestos disease in India and other Asian countries. This brings unprecedented dishonor on Quebec in particular and Canada in general.
I wish to submit that the silence of National Assembly of Quebec in the matter of human rights violations due to exposure from Quebec asbestos is deafening.The time is now for the Quebec legislature to legislate a law that puts public health before blind lust for profit of the asbestos industry.
In the aftermath of the 26th Anniversary of World’s worst industrial disaster caused by Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), a US company, I submit that in the US, Dow Chemicals Company has set aside $2.2 billion to address future asbestos-related liabilities arising out of the UCC’s acquisition. There no such initiative by the Quebec and Indian asbestos companies although it is an established fact that asbestos is a known human carcinogen that claims more than 100,000 lives every year.
The World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), representing 176 million workers in 151 countries have all called for an end to the use of any form of asbestos, including chrysotile asbestos, which represents 100% of the global asbestos trade.
Amidst a growing demand for a global ban on all kinds of asbestos and its products, Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI), an alliance of occupational and environmental groups and public health researchers’ appeal to the Committee to recommend that ban on asbestos trade with Canada must be deemed a pre-condition for future negotiations on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). On November 16, 2010, Canadian Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan opened formal talks with our Union Commerce Minister, Anand Sharma on a strategic economic partnership between the two countries.
I submit that BANI which is working to make India asbestos free feels that Canada lost its place as a non-Permanent Member in the UN Security Council because it is fast losing its reputation as a civilized nation because of its position on asbestos trade among other reasons.
BANI is attempting to respond to the public health crisis in India due to trade in asbestos. There is an epidemic of incurable asbestos related diseases and India does not have the environmental and occupational health infrastructure to even diagnose the asbestos diseases.
While Canadian House of Commons is being decontaminated of asbestos, there is not a single building in India including the Indian Parliament which is asbestos free.
I wish to draw your attention towards the fact that a helicopter carrying the President of India hit an asbestos shed at the Bhubaneshwar airport, Orissa (a province in India) on December 9, 2009. The fact is that such asbestos sheds pose a health, environmental and occupational risk to everybody.
In 2006 alone there were more than 1,000 mesothelioma deaths (asbestos related fatal disease) in Japan which along with some 52 countries has banned asbestos. Some 10, 000 people are dying of asbestos related diseases in the US. Indians face and await a similar fate.
I wish to inform you that The White Asbestos (Ban on Use and Import) Bill, 2009 is pending the Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of the Indian Parliament). The issue of health hazards from asbestos has been raised consistently in the Indian Parliament.
The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the White Asbestos (Ban on Use and Import) Bill, 2009 introduced on 31 July 2009 captures clearly the global stand on this issue:
“The white asbestos is highly carcinogenic even the World Health Organisation has reported that it causes cancer. It is a rare fibrous material that is used to make rooftops and brake linings. More than fifty countries have already banned the use and import of white asbestos. Even the countries that export it to India prefer not to use it domestically. But in our country, it is imported without any restriction. Canada and Russia are the biggest exporters of white asbestos. In 2007, Canada exported almost Ninety five percent of the white asbestos it mined and out of it forty-three percent was shipped to India. It is quite surprising that our country is openly importing huge quantity of a product, which causes cancer. This is despite the fact that safer and almost cheap alternatives to asbestos are available in the country. Instead of importing a hazardous material, it will be better if we spend some money in research and development and use environment friendly product. In view of the above, there is an urgent need for a total ban on the import and use of white asbestos and promote the use of alternative material.”
Through you I wish to urge Quebec government and Quebec National Assembly to desist from providing fiscal support to an industry in Quebec which is liable for the fatal asbestos diseases and death of millions of workers and consumers.
In such a context, through you BANI urges the legislators to ensure that ‘ban on asbestos commerce’ must be made a pre-condition for the proposed free trade agreement between India and Canada.
I humbly submit that this provides an unprecedented opportunity to the Canadian Parliament to assert its legislative will and stop the group of international investors who want to purchase the Jeffrey asbestos mine that will lead to production of killer fibers of asbestos to expand from 15,000 to 180, 000 tonne/year in 2012 and eventually to 225,000 tonnes.
Sadly, while the production of asbestos fibers will increase, the reputation of Quebec, Canada as a civilized nation will nose dive to its nadir. Quebec and Canadian government is bigger than the Quebec asbestos industry, the way the members of Quebec National Assembly which you chair acts or does not act will determine the same. It is heartening to know that you are also President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF). Therefore, you command a moral authority which will help you comprehend and act to set a precedent in the interest of asbestos victims of the world in general and Indian victims in particular.
I will be glad to share more information about the asbestos victims and related issues.
Thanking You
Warm Regards
Gopal Krishna
Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI)
New Delhi
Mb: 9818089660
E-mail: krishna2777@gmail.com
Blog: banasbestosindia.blogspot.com
Cc
Sir,
With due respect this is with reference to Quebec government's role in giving $58 million financing to an anonymous consortium of foreign investors to open the Jeffrey mine to export 5 million tonnes of asbestos to India and other Asian countries over the next quarter century. India is one of the biggest consumers of asbestos mined in Quebec, a province of Canada although there is ban on asbestos mining in India. In India, Human Rights Commission has ruled that exposing human beings to asbestos fibers is an act human rights violation.
On behalf of Indian citizens, I wish to request you to persuade Quebec Premier, Jean Charest to listen to public health experts of the world and his own medical experts and not to finance a new generation of asbestos disease in India and other Asian countries. This brings unprecedented dishonor on Quebec in particular and Canada in general.
I wish to submit that the silence of National Assembly of Quebec in the matter of human rights violations due to exposure from Quebec asbestos is deafening.The time is now for the Quebec legislature to legislate a law that puts public health before blind lust for profit of the asbestos industry.
In the aftermath of the 26th Anniversary of World’s worst industrial disaster caused by Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), a US company, I submit that in the US, Dow Chemicals Company has set aside $2.2 billion to address future asbestos-related liabilities arising out of the UCC’s acquisition. There no such initiative by the Quebec and Indian asbestos companies although it is an established fact that asbestos is a known human carcinogen that claims more than 100,000 lives every year.
The World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), representing 176 million workers in 151 countries have all called for an end to the use of any form of asbestos, including chrysotile asbestos, which represents 100% of the global asbestos trade.
Amidst a growing demand for a global ban on all kinds of asbestos and its products, Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI), an alliance of occupational and environmental groups and public health researchers’ appeal to the Committee to recommend that ban on asbestos trade with Canada must be deemed a pre-condition for future negotiations on Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). On November 16, 2010, Canadian Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan opened formal talks with our Union Commerce Minister, Anand Sharma on a strategic economic partnership between the two countries.
I submit that BANI which is working to make India asbestos free feels that Canada lost its place as a non-Permanent Member in the UN Security Council because it is fast losing its reputation as a civilized nation because of its position on asbestos trade among other reasons.
BANI is attempting to respond to the public health crisis in India due to trade in asbestos. There is an epidemic of incurable asbestos related diseases and India does not have the environmental and occupational health infrastructure to even diagnose the asbestos diseases.
While Canadian House of Commons is being decontaminated of asbestos, there is not a single building in India including the Indian Parliament which is asbestos free.
I wish to draw your attention towards the fact that a helicopter carrying the President of India hit an asbestos shed at the Bhubaneshwar airport, Orissa (a province in India) on December 9, 2009. The fact is that such asbestos sheds pose a health, environmental and occupational risk to everybody.
In 2006 alone there were more than 1,000 mesothelioma deaths (asbestos related fatal disease) in Japan which along with some 52 countries has banned asbestos. Some 10, 000 people are dying of asbestos related diseases in the US. Indians face and await a similar fate.
I wish to inform you that The White Asbestos (Ban on Use and Import) Bill, 2009 is pending the Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of the Indian Parliament). The issue of health hazards from asbestos has been raised consistently in the Indian Parliament.
The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the White Asbestos (Ban on Use and Import) Bill, 2009 introduced on 31 July 2009 captures clearly the global stand on this issue:
“The white asbestos is highly carcinogenic even the World Health Organisation has reported that it causes cancer. It is a rare fibrous material that is used to make rooftops and brake linings. More than fifty countries have already banned the use and import of white asbestos. Even the countries that export it to India prefer not to use it domestically. But in our country, it is imported without any restriction. Canada and Russia are the biggest exporters of white asbestos. In 2007, Canada exported almost Ninety five percent of the white asbestos it mined and out of it forty-three percent was shipped to India. It is quite surprising that our country is openly importing huge quantity of a product, which causes cancer. This is despite the fact that safer and almost cheap alternatives to asbestos are available in the country. Instead of importing a hazardous material, it will be better if we spend some money in research and development and use environment friendly product. In view of the above, there is an urgent need for a total ban on the import and use of white asbestos and promote the use of alternative material.”
Through you I wish to urge Quebec government and Quebec National Assembly to desist from providing fiscal support to an industry in Quebec which is liable for the fatal asbestos diseases and death of millions of workers and consumers.
In such a context, through you BANI urges the legislators to ensure that ‘ban on asbestos commerce’ must be made a pre-condition for the proposed free trade agreement between India and Canada.
I humbly submit that this provides an unprecedented opportunity to the Canadian Parliament to assert its legislative will and stop the group of international investors who want to purchase the Jeffrey asbestos mine that will lead to production of killer fibers of asbestos to expand from 15,000 to 180, 000 tonne/year in 2012 and eventually to 225,000 tonnes.
Sadly, while the production of asbestos fibers will increase, the reputation of Quebec, Canada as a civilized nation will nose dive to its nadir. Quebec and Canadian government is bigger than the Quebec asbestos industry, the way the members of Quebec National Assembly which you chair acts or does not act will determine the same. It is heartening to know that you are also President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF). Therefore, you command a moral authority which will help you comprehend and act to set a precedent in the interest of asbestos victims of the world in general and Indian victims in particular.
I will be glad to share more information about the asbestos victims and related issues.
Thanking You
Warm Regards
Gopal Krishna
Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI)
New Delhi
Mb: 9818089660
E-mail: krishna2777@gmail.com
Blog: banasbestosindia.blogspot.com
Cc
Mr Jean Charest , Premier, Quebec, Canada
Mr Peter Milliken, Speaker, House of Commons, Canada
Mr Hamid Ansari, Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Upper House of Indian Parliament
Mrs Meira Kumar, Speaker, Lok Sabha, Lower House Indian Parliament
Mr Peter Milliken, Speaker, House of Commons, Canada
Mr Hamid Ansari, Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Upper House of Indian Parliament
Mrs Meira Kumar, Speaker, Lok Sabha, Lower House Indian Parliament
Waste-to-Energy Plants Face Public Heat
“Within a radius of two kilometres from the existing and upcoming incinerators are three major hospitals…”
Waste-to-Energy Plants Face Public Heat
By Ranjit Devraj
NEW DELHI, Dec 14, 2010 (IPS) - A plan to establish waste-to-energy plants in New Delhi as part of a carbon- trading programme has run into fierce opposition over hazards posed by toxic chemical byproducts.
"The government is mistaken if it believes that the citizens of Delhi are unaware of environmental issues," Gopal Krishna, convenor of the Toxics Alliance Watch tells IPS. "These are not illiterate villagers in some distant district and they worry about being directly affected by three pilot waste-to- energy plants fast coming up in their city." 
Krishna told IPS that he is encouraged by the stiff resistance from the affluent south Delhi locality of Sukhdev Vihar. The area is populated by doctors, engineers, writers, and artists. They have already fought off a biomedical waste incinerator that spewed plumes of toxic smoke over a boundary wall.
"We will certainly oppose this new waste-to-energy plant, as it poses an even greater threat to health than the biomedical incinerator," Vanya Joshi, a Sukhdev Vihar resident who makes films on environmental issues told IPS.
"How can they ask us to put up with this so-called waste-to-energy project?" says Siddharth, one of India’s most respected painters, who lives and works out of Sukhdev Vihar.
In addition to the Delhi plant, two other plants are being built at Timarpur and Ghazipur, on the northern and eastern outskirts of the city. Together, the three plants will process 3,200 tonnes of solid municipal waste to produce 26 megawatts of electricity, beginning 2011.
The Delhi state government includes waste-to-energy plants in its climate change initiatives for the 2009-2012 period, claiming that its agenda is in line with the Prime Minister’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) launched in June 2008.
"This is a false claim," Krishna told IPS. "The NAPCC document categorically refers to bio-methanation, a biological treatment method rather than technology to produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF) which relies on incineration."
The United States Environmental Protection Agency says that all municipal waste combustors, regardless of technology, release toxic pollutants such as cadmium, lead, mercury, dioxin, furans, sulphur dioxide, and particulate matter.
Of these persistent organic pollutants (POPs), dioxins and mercury are considered particularly harmful because they remain in the environment and in animals.
On Jun. 27, the residents of Sukhdev Vihar formally petitioned Delhi’s chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, demanding to know how "the government can allow such a hazardous project to come up amidst residential colonies." The residents also petitioned the Delhi High Court for relief.
Within a radius of two kilometres from the existing and upcoming incinerators are three major hospitals: Holy Family Hospital, Fortis-Escorts Heart Institute, and Indraprastha Apollo hospital. Also in close proximity is the Jamia Millia Islamia University.
Krishna finds it galling that the waste-to-energy plants are registered as part of a carbon credit programme and claim to be Clean Development Mechanisms (CDMs) by generating electricity using a non-conventional energy source.
CDMs are arrangements under the Kyoto Protocol that allow industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas (GhG) reduction commitment to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries.
"This is preposterous," he said. "Waste incineration generates greenhouse gases and clearly cannot qualify as a CDM."
Krishna says that while communities living in the vicinity of incinerators are most at risk, contamination can reach areas as far away as 1,000 miles (1,600 km).
POPs are known to have long-term toxic effects that can be passed from one generation to the next through mother’s milk. POPs threaten the health of unborn children because they can pass through the placental wall and interfere with foetal development.
"Every one of Delhi’s 12 million residents will be exposed to the toxins via the food chain," said Krishna. (END)
InterPress Service
14 December 2010
Bolivia Decries Adoption of Cancun Accord Without Consensus
Written By mediavigil on Monday, December 13, 2010 | 12:03 AM
Press Release
Plurinational State of Bolivia
Bolivia Decries Adoption of Copenhagen Accord II Without ConsensusPlurinational State of Bolivia
December 11, 2010 (Cancun, Mexico) - The Plurinational State of Bolivia believes that the Cancun text is a hollow and false victory that was imposed without consensus, and its cost will be measured in human lives. History will judge harshly.
There is only one way to measure the success of a climate agreement, and that is based on whether or not it will effectively reduce emissions to prevent runaway climate change. This text clearly fails, as it could allow global temperatures to increase by more than 4 degrees, a level disastrous for humanity. Recent scientific reports show that 300,000 people already die each year from climate change-related disasters. This text threatens to increase the number of deaths annually to one million. This is something we can never accept.
Last year, everyone recognized that Copenhagen was a failure both in process and substance. Yet this year, a deliberate campaign to lower expectations and desperation for any agreement has led to one that in substance is little more than Copenhagen II.
A so-called victory for multilateralism is really a victory for the rich nations who bullied and cajoled other nations into accepting a deal on their terms. The richest nations offered us nothing new in terms of emission reductions or financing, and instead sought at every stage to backtrack on existing commitments, and include every loophole possible to reduce their obligation to act.
While developing nations - those that face the worst consequences of climate change - pleaded for ambition, we were instead offered the “realism” of empty gestures. Proposals by powerful countries like the US were sacrosanct, while ours were disposable. Compromise was always at the expense of the victims, rather than the culprits of climate change. When Bolivia said we did not agree with the text in the final hours of talks, we were overruled. An accord where only the powerful win is not a negotiation, it is an imposition.
Bolivia came to Cancun with concrete proposals that we believed would bring hope for the future. These proposals were agreed by 35,000 people in an historic World People’s Conference Cochabamba in April 2010. They seek just solutions to the climate crisis and address its root causes. In the year since Copenhagen, they were integrated into the negotiating text of the parties, and yet the Cancun text systematically excludes these voices. Bolivia cannot be convinced to abandon its principles or those of the peoples we represent. We will continue to struggle alongside affected communities worldwide until climate justice is achieved.
Bolivia has participated in these negotiations in good faith and the hope that we could achieve an effective climate deal. We were prepared to compromise on many things, except the lives of our people. Sadly, that is what the world’s richest nations expect us to do. Countries may try to isolate us for our position, but we come here in representation of the peoples and social movements who want real and effective action to protect the future of humanity and Mother Earth. We feel their support as our guide. History will be the judge of what has happened in Cancun.
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PLURINATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF BOLIVIA IN CANCUN
For Details: Megan Morrissey
megan.morrissey@gmail.com
9981080776 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 9981080776 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Nick Buxton
nicholasbuxton@gmail.com
http://boliviaun.net
http://cmpcc.org
http://twitter.com/boliviaun
UNFCCC's Press Release on Cancun Talks
Written By mediavigil on Saturday, December 11, 2010 | 12:10 PM
UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun delivers balanced package of decisions, restores faith in multilateral process
(Cancun, 11 December 2010) ñ The UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, ended on Saturday with the adoption of a balanced package of decisions that set all governments more firmly on the path towards a low-emissions future and support enhanced action on climate change in the developing world.
The package, dubbed the Cancun Agreementsî was welcomed to repeated loud and prolonged applause and acclaim by Parties in the final plenary.
Cancun has done its job. The beacon of hope has been reignited and faith in the multilateral climate change process to deliver results has been restored, said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres. Nations have shown they can work together under a common roof, to reach consensus on a common cause. They have shown that consensus in a transparent and inclusive process can create opportunity for all,î she said.
Governments have given a clear signal that they are headed towards a low-emissions future together, they have agreed to be accountable to each other for the actions they take to get there, and they have set it out in a way which encourages countries to be more ambitious over time, she said.
Nations launched a set of initiatives and institutions to protect the poor and the vulnerable from climate change and to deploy the money and technology that developing countries need to plan and build their own sustainable futures. And they agreed to launch concrete action to preserve forests in developing nations, which will increase going forward.
They also agreed that countries need to work to stay below a two degree temperature rise and they set a clear timetable for review, to ensure that global action is adequate to meet the emerging reality of climate change. This is not the end, but it is a new beginning. It is not what is ultimately required but it is the essential foundation on which to build greater, collective ambition, said Ms. Figueres.
Elements of the Canc˙n Agreements include:
• Industrialised country targets are officially recognised under the multilateral process and these countries are to develop low-carbon development plans and strategies and assess how best to meet them, including through market mechanisms, and to report their inventories annually
• Developing country actions to reduce emissions are officially recognised under the multilateral process. A registry is to be set up to record and match developing country mitigation actions to finance and technology support from by industrialised countries. Developing countries are to publish progress reports every two years.
• Parties meeting under the Kyoto Protocol agree to continue negotiations with the aim of completing their work and ensuring there is no gap between the first and second commitment periods of the treaty.
• The Kyoto Protocolís Clean Development Mechanisms has been strengthened to drive more major investments and technology into environmentally sound and sustainable emission reduction projects in the developing world.
• Parties launched a set of initiatives and institutions to protect the vulnerable from climate change and to deploy the money and technology that developing countries need to plan and build their own sustainable futures.
• A total of $30 billion in fast start finance from industrialised countries to support climate action in the developing world up to 2012 and the intention to raise $100 billion in longterm funds by 2020 is included in the decisions.
• In the field of climate finance, a process to design a Green Climate Fund under the Conference of the Parties, with a board with equal representation from developed and developing countries, is established.
• A new ìCanc˙n Adaptation Frameworkî is established to allow better planning and implementation of adaptation projects in developing countries through increased financial and technical support, including a clear process for continuing work on loss and damage.
• Governments agree to boost action to curb emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries with technological and financial support.
• Parties have established a technology mechanism with a Technology Executive Committee and Climate Technology Centre and Network to increase technology cooperation to support action on adaptation and mitigation.
The next Conference of the Parties is scheduled to take place in South Africa, from 28 November to 9 December 2011.
(Cancun, 11 December 2010) ñ The UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, ended on Saturday with the adoption of a balanced package of decisions that set all governments more firmly on the path towards a low-emissions future and support enhanced action on climate change in the developing world.
The package, dubbed the Cancun Agreementsî was welcomed to repeated loud and prolonged applause and acclaim by Parties in the final plenary.
Cancun has done its job. The beacon of hope has been reignited and faith in the multilateral climate change process to deliver results has been restored, said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres. Nations have shown they can work together under a common roof, to reach consensus on a common cause. They have shown that consensus in a transparent and inclusive process can create opportunity for all,î she said.
Governments have given a clear signal that they are headed towards a low-emissions future together, they have agreed to be accountable to each other for the actions they take to get there, and they have set it out in a way which encourages countries to be more ambitious over time, she said.
Nations launched a set of initiatives and institutions to protect the poor and the vulnerable from climate change and to deploy the money and technology that developing countries need to plan and build their own sustainable futures. And they agreed to launch concrete action to preserve forests in developing nations, which will increase going forward.
They also agreed that countries need to work to stay below a two degree temperature rise and they set a clear timetable for review, to ensure that global action is adequate to meet the emerging reality of climate change. This is not the end, but it is a new beginning. It is not what is ultimately required but it is the essential foundation on which to build greater, collective ambition, said Ms. Figueres.
Elements of the Canc˙n Agreements include:
• Industrialised country targets are officially recognised under the multilateral process and these countries are to develop low-carbon development plans and strategies and assess how best to meet them, including through market mechanisms, and to report their inventories annually
• Developing country actions to reduce emissions are officially recognised under the multilateral process. A registry is to be set up to record and match developing country mitigation actions to finance and technology support from by industrialised countries. Developing countries are to publish progress reports every two years.
• Parties meeting under the Kyoto Protocol agree to continue negotiations with the aim of completing their work and ensuring there is no gap between the first and second commitment periods of the treaty.
• The Kyoto Protocolís Clean Development Mechanisms has been strengthened to drive more major investments and technology into environmentally sound and sustainable emission reduction projects in the developing world.
• Parties launched a set of initiatives and institutions to protect the vulnerable from climate change and to deploy the money and technology that developing countries need to plan and build their own sustainable futures.
• A total of $30 billion in fast start finance from industrialised countries to support climate action in the developing world up to 2012 and the intention to raise $100 billion in longterm funds by 2020 is included in the decisions.
• In the field of climate finance, a process to design a Green Climate Fund under the Conference of the Parties, with a board with equal representation from developed and developing countries, is established.
• A new ìCanc˙n Adaptation Frameworkî is established to allow better planning and implementation of adaptation projects in developing countries through increased financial and technical support, including a clear process for continuing work on loss and damage.
• Governments agree to boost action to curb emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries with technological and financial support.
• Parties have established a technology mechanism with a Technology Executive Committee and Climate Technology Centre and Network to increase technology cooperation to support action on adaptation and mitigation.
The next Conference of the Parties is scheduled to take place in South Africa, from 28 November to 9 December 2011.
Environment Minister’s Cancun ‘U’ turn Condemned
Written By krishna on Friday, December 10, 2010 | 4:27 AM
Press Release
Carbon Credit Projects Threaten Livelihood & Cause Pollution
New Delhi 10/12/2010:
Condemning the apparent shift and U turn in the statement of Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India at Cancun, Mexcio in the 16th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a public meeting the Constitution Club, New Delhi rejected false solutions like carbon trade for the climate crisis.
At the public meeting on the “Carbon Trade Fraud and Human Cost of the Garbage to Electricity Projects” D Raja, Member of Parliament, Communist Party of India criticized the government for saying “All countries must make binding commitments in appropriate legal form.” Speaker after speaker at the meeting expressed its outrage at the Minister’s statement.
Most recently, it has reliably been learnt that Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s Asian Pacific Carbon Fund (APCF) has dropped the Timarpur-Okhla incineration based waste to energy plant out of its portfolio. But the construction of the plant is still underway. Sadly, now given the fact that Delhi High Court that heard the matter on 15 September, 2010 has posted the matter for hearing on 15 January 2011, we request the Parliamentary Committee to intervene urgently to protect the residents of Delhi from highly polluting plants.
There is massive opposition to the Timarpur-Okhla Waste to Energy project that has met with protest rally from the residents of Gaffar Manzil, Sukhdev Vihar and Hazi Colony together. Over thousands of people have walked through the colonies in a procession to stage their protest.
Waste incineration systems (including waste pelletisation, pyrolysis and gasification systems) produce pollutants, which are detrimental to health & environment. It is expensive and does not eliminate or adequately control the toxic emissions from today's chemically complex municipal discards. Even new incinerators release toxic metals, dioxins, and acid gases. Far from eliminating the need for a landfill, waste incinerator systems produce toxic ash and other residues. Such projects disperse incinerator ash throughout the environment and subsequently enter our food chain.
Gopal Krishna of Toxics Watch Alliance exposed the nature of carbon trade and how it is a fake solution for the climate crisis. These waste to energy projects are being promoted in manifest violation of international environmental norms. Incineration of waste violates Kyoto Protocol because as per the Protocol waste incineration is a greenhouse gas emitter. The sad plight at waste to energy site in Gandhamguda village in Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh (wrongly mentioned as Hyderabad project) which had the same technology was mentioned. While the RDF incinerator was in operation, the village was covered by a heavy shroud of dark smoke. Originally a pelletisation plant with a furnace, After the plant came up, local doctors started detecting case of problems not found before— skin rashes, asthma, respiratory problems and some cases of stillborns.
Ravi Agarwal of Toxics Link said, “Incinerator based technological intervention in the waste stream distorts waste management beyond repair. Such systems rely on minimum guaranteed waste flows."
Shashi Bhushan Pandit of All India Kabadi Mazdoor Mahasangh said, Waste to energy plants costs cities and municipalities more and provides fewer jobs than comprehensive recycling and composting. It prohibits the development of local recycling-based businesses. We demand closure of this combustion based project for a just transition from burning waste to building a better, cleaner future for the residents of Delhi.
Notably, while 'whether or not energy from mixed municipal waste (with hazardous characteristics) is a driving concern' remains in dispute, the Prime Minister’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) categorically refers to Biomethanation technology, a biological treatment method for waste to energy instead of the Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) process which is a incineration technology and is a tried, tested, failed and Dioxins emitting technology.
Even Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)’s own Feasibility Study and Master Plan for Optimal Waste Treatment and Disposal for the Entire State of Delhi of March 2004 says, “Incineration of RDF is considered waste incineration.” (Page 25, Appendix D, Technology Catalogue). It also says the costs of RDF are often high for societies with low calorific value because energy is used to dry the waste before it becomes feasible to burn it.
In fact the Master Plan Report (2020) of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) itself says, “RDF is often an option when emission standards are lax and RDF is burned in conventional boilers with no special precautions for emissions.” One is surprised that despite this observation the report then goes on to suggest RDF. In fact the MCD report itself says that RDF is another form of incineration.
The proposed polluting technology to deal with the waste from South Delhi, North West Delhi and East Delhi is fraught with disastrous public health consequences for which two companies namely, Timarpur-Okhla Waste Management Company (TOWMCL) and the Unique Waste Processing Company (subsidiary of IL&FS Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited have been set up. The Timarpur-Okhla carbon credit project was registered on 10th November, 2007 with a claim to reduce greenhouse gases to the tune of 262,791 metric tonnes CO2 equivalent per annum. Unique Waste Processing Company, a subsidiary of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) and Andhra Pradesh Technology Development Centre (APTDC) has incorporated Timarpur-Okhla Waste Management Company for developing the project for processing municipal waste and also to produce electricity at two locations namely Timarpur and Okhla, at the site at Okhla that is adjacent to defunct Okhla Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). TOWMCL is working with New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and MCD. The Timarpur and Okhla plant will together be processing 650 tonnes per day of MSW at Timarpur site and 1300 tonnes per day of MSW at Okhla and claims to generate 16 MW of electricity.
Prof S S Khanna, former Senior Advisor, Planning Commission said, hazardous technologies should not be adopted there are biological methods to deal with waste management through material recovery and by recycling. The Inter-Ministerial Task Force on Integrated Plant Nutrient Management did not encourage WTE policy and has recommended setting up of 1000 compost plants all over the country.
Dunu Roy of Hazards Centre, The incentives and subsidies should be offered in areas of `cold' technologies alone, which are suited to our country economically, socially and also to our wastes.”
Devendra Baral of Bal Vikas Dhara said, “because of corporatisation of waste, some 2 lakh waste pickers arte losing their livelihood. Government should change its anti-poor policy”.
All India Kachra Shramik MahaSangh’s Dharmendar Yadav said, “Delhi’s waste to energy project is anti-poor and is threat to waste pickers livelihood”.
In the context of misguided waste incineration plants aimed at earning carbon credits as a solution for climate crisis, B. Sengupta former Member Secretary, Central Pollution Control Board referred to the order of Supreme Court which had sought closure and shift of all such polluting plants from the residential areas. Mr. Anil Mishra from Residential welfare Association, Sukhdev Vihar blamed the policy of the central and Delhi government.
There was a resolution adopted by the participants stating:
1. That the fake public hearing and fake environmental clearance to these waste to energy project of Okhla was given when A Raja was the Union Minister for Environment & Forests, the same should be cancelled immediately
2. Central government and State Government must take cognizance of the threat to waste pickers’ livelihood. Therefore, municipal waste should not be handed over to companies.
3. That the proposed waste to energy plants in Timarpur, Sukhdev Vihar (Okhla) and Gazipur must be stopped with immediate effect and high cost routes for waste management must be avoided and instead only appropriate methods such as small-scale bio-methanation, composting and proper recycling be propagated.
For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance, Mb: 9818089660, Shashi Bhushan Pandit, Mb: 9968413109, Devendra Baral, Mb: 9811507172, Dharmedar Yadav, Mb: 9968005632, Pramod Kumar, Mb: 9873600459
Make public nuclear pact with French firm: CPI
Written By krishna on Thursday, December 09, 2010 | 8:20 AM
Make public nuclear pact with French firm: CPI
NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India on Wednesday asked the Centre to take into account public demonstrations in Maharashtra against the setting up of nuclear power plants there and raised environmental issues connected with the Jaitapur project.
It urged the government to make public the contract signed between French civil nuclear company Areva and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited. Demanding that the government review the environmental clearance to the Jaitapur plant, the CPI also flagged issues of public assessment of the safety of the plant design, expressed apprehensions over possible cost overruns and clarity on France's insistence on the Vienna Convention to limit nuclear liability.
Referring to the demonstrations by various organisations, CPI MP D. Raja, in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said that instead of engaging with the concerns of people about safety implications, impact on their livelihood and other issues, the government of Maharashtra arrested some 1,500 people from the site. The action was aimed at preventing any embarrassment during the visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
He said the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited should have been given the go-ahead only after it submitted a supplementary plan to conserve biodiversity, instead of being given one-year time to come up with the plan.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/09/stories/2010120965941400.htm
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India, France ink two pacts on nuclear safety
Pact with ASN provides for exchange of experts and information on radiation protection
Accord with IRSN covers staff exchange, exchange of materials or software
NEW DELHI: Besides the five agreements in the nuclear field that were announced on December 6 by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) during the visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, two more agreements between India and France were signed here on the same date in the area of nuclear safety. For some reason, these were not included in MEA's announcement.
The first is an agreement between the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN). This is for exchange of technical information and cooperation in regulation of nuclear safety and radiation protection. It was signed by AERB Chairman S. S. Bajaj, and ASN Chairman Andre Claude Lacoste.
Exchange of information
According to AERB Secretary R. Bhattacharya, the accord provides for exchange of information in the development of nuclear plant safety review process. It also provides for exchange of experts and technical and regulatory information relating to radiation protection and safety of nuclear facilities.
“This agreement renews and updates the existing arrangement, which is in force since 1999 and subsequently renewed in 2005,” says an AERB release issued on Wednesday.
The second agreement is on technical cooperation between the AERB and the French Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN). Called the AERB-IRSN Framework Agreement for general cooperation in nuclear safety, it was signed by Mr. Bajaj and Jacqus Repussard, Director General of IRSN.
The agreement covers areas such as exchange or secondment of staff, exchange of materials or software, joint studies and joint projects in the area of nuclear safety.
An IRSN press release, issued on Wednesday from Paris, however, has an interesting addition. “By signing this agreement,” it said, “both organisations are illustrating their resolve to enhance cooperation in this massively important field, particularly within the context of the forthcoming construction of two EPR nuclear reactors at the Jaitapur site.”
While the implication of this statement is not very clear, Mr. Bhattacharya said there was no particular reference to Jaitapur in the actual agreement.
However, since the AERB would be involved in the technology assessment and review of the European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs), this agreement provided for general exchange of information on the EPR technology in the development of the review process by AERB, he said.
IRSN is the technical support organisation for the ASN just as the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) is for the AERB. This agreement basically extends to the AERB the earlier scientific and technical cooperation that was in existence for over 10 years between the IRSN and the BARC.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/09/stories/2010120965961400.htm