The Hindu : National : Reactor Pressure Vessel installed

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Saturday, Dec 15, 2007
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National

Reactor Pressure Vessel installed

Staff Reporter

KOODANKULAM (Tirunelveli): The Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) of the second nuclear reactor of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) was installed on Friday. It is considered the heart of any nuclear reactor.

The RPV, in which heat is produced by nuclear fission, was installed inside the reactor building II in a smooth operation in the presence of S.K. Agrawal, Director (Projects), Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited; K.C. Purohit, Project Director, KKNPP; and Indian and Russian experts.

The erection of the RPV, carried out by Indian and Russian engineers using a high capacity circular crane, “signifies the major milestone in the construction of the nuclear reactor,” said a jubilant Agrawal. In the first unit at the project, where the RPV has already been installed, welding of main coolant piping is going on.

Speaking to journalists, Mr. Agrawal said the first reactor of the project would become operational in December 2008 and the second one in June 2009. He said though the pace of construction had slowed down, there would not be any compromise on the quality of construction or erection of equipment. “We’ve got five tiers of quality checking mechanisms right from the contractor to the Atomic Energy Regularity Board, and hence there will not be any compromise.”

On the delay in signing the final pact on construction of reactors 3 to 6 in the project, he said the inter-governmental agreement did not mean that work on construction would start immediately. The final nod from the Indian and Russian governments would be obtained only after a waiver was given by the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

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