A drill was conducted near Kudankulam on Wednesday to educate the villagers living close to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project about protecting themselves during radiation or chemical disaster and educating them about handling of radioactive materials found near their locality.
As the 2 X 1,000 MWe nuclear reactors are generating power in Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project and four more nuclear reactors are under construction with Russian assistance in this upcoming nuclear park, the radiation and chemical disaster management mock drill was organized at nearby Chettikulam on Wednesday.
The purpose behind conducting this drill was to sensitise the villagers living nearby to protecting themselves in the event of radiation or chemical disaster as enriched uranium is being used as fuel in these nuclear reactors for generating power.
In the drill, led by Sub-Collector, Cheranmahadevi, Arpit Jain, National Disaster Management Authority participated along with the well-trained National Disaster Response Force personnel donning specially designed suits for carrying out rescue operation in the ‘affected areas’.
The drill organised on Chettikulam Government Higher Secondary School premises also lucidly taught the villagers about removing a ‘radioactive material’ found in their vicinity by the personnel.
“If a radioactive material is found near your home or in an isolated place near your village, alert the local body representatives, fire and rescue services station and the police. The people should not try to remove the material as any attempt to remove the radioactive substance without making mandatory precautionary arrangements would be disastrous. If anyone happens to handle it accidentally and swooned due to radiation, the police and the fire and rescue services personnel will take care of the next steps of the rescue operation through the well-trained personnel,” the villagers were told.
The drill also taught the villagers about the dos and don’ts in the event of radiation.
