Why an Accident like Bhopal Gas Tragedy is less likely at Nuclear Power Plants
Bhopal gas accident happened at a time when I was a newly enrolled student in the United States, and was keen to get a Graduate Degree in Nuclear Engineering. The news from back home was chilling, and I went in great detail to understand what actually happened there. At that time the information that was pouring in, was blurry. But today after decades we are in a better position to understand what happened there. Even today friends in India, as well as policy makers will bring the ghost of Bhopal alive, during discussions when I, a zealous supporter of nuclear power would pitch in my two cents for the cause. I was dismayed to see how conveniently the Bhopal tragedy was factored in drafting the liability law for the civilian nuclear power. There should be no denying that whatever happened at Bhopal was tragic and it was sad that many of the culprits were not punished in accordance with the law of the land, and the next kin of the deceased was not compensated fairly.
Now it is no secret that a large volume of water was introduced into a tank where it was not supposed to be. This caused a chemical reaction that forced the pressure release valve to open and allowed the deadly gas to leak.
The root cause of the problem was not following the procedure and possible “sabotage” by a disgruntled employee. It was also noted that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak, because in designing the plant's safety systems, a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not factored in.
Due to decades of experience at an operating nuclear power plant in the United States, and being involved in the safety aspect, I am confident in saying that there is a remote possibility of an accident to happen at a nuclear power plant, because of the causes, that resulted in such a tragedy at Bhopal.
What would have prevented them from happening?
There are United States Nuclear regulatory Commission (USNRC) mandated programs, where employees are under continued surveillance and any sign of abnormality is detected before the sabotage. These programs are: (1)-Continued Behavior Observation Program (CBOP), and (2)-Fitness for Duty. The sabotage would have mitigated by these programs if they were strictly enforced at the factory in Bhopal.
Conservatism is added at every step in designing a nuclear power plant, and hence a chemical reaction of this magnitude would have been factored in the design, and steps would have been outlined to mitigate the accident, if it ever happened.
At the nuclear power plant sites, Onsite, as well as Off-site Emergency Plans are put in place, which provides evacuation and shelter in extreme situations like the one that happened at Bhopal. In the absence of these plans, unfortunately the casualty mounted, which would have been curtailed if the plans were in place.
Bhopal gas accident happened at a time when I was a newly enrolled student in the United States, and was keen to get a Graduate Degree in Nuclear Engineering. The news from back home was chilling, and I went in great detail to understand what actually happened there. At that time the information that was pouring in, was blurry. But today after decades we are in a better position to understand what happened there. Even today friends in India, as well as policy makers will bring the ghost of Bhopal alive, during discussions when I, a zealous supporter of nuclear power would pitch in my two cents for the cause. I was dismayed to see how conveniently the Bhopal tragedy was factored in drafting the liability law for the civilian nuclear power. There should be no denying that whatever happened at Bhopal was tragic and it was sad that many of the culprits were not punished in accordance with the law of the land, and the next kin of the deceased was not compensated fairly.
Now it is no secret that a large volume of water was introduced into a tank where it was not supposed to be. This caused a chemical reaction that forced the pressure release valve to open and allowed the deadly gas to leak.
The root cause of the problem was not following the procedure and possible “sabotage” by a disgruntled employee. It was also noted that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak, because in designing the plant's safety systems, a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not factored in.
Due to decades of experience at an operating nuclear power plant in the United States, and being involved in the safety aspect, I am confident in saying that there is a remote possibility of an accident to happen at a nuclear power plant, because of the causes, that resulted in such a tragedy at Bhopal.
What would have prevented them from happening?
There are United States Nuclear regulatory Commission (USNRC) mandated programs, where employees are under continued surveillance and any sign of abnormality is detected before the sabotage. These programs are: (1)-Continued Behavior Observation Program (CBOP), and (2)-Fitness for Duty. The sabotage would have mitigated by these programs if they were strictly enforced at the factory in Bhopal.
Conservatism is added at every step in designing a nuclear power plant, and hence a chemical reaction of this magnitude would have been factored in the design, and steps would have been outlined to mitigate the accident, if it ever happened.
At the nuclear power plant sites, Onsite, as well as Off-site Emergency Plans are put in place, which provides evacuation and shelter in extreme situations like the one that happened at Bhopal. In the absence of these plans, unfortunately the casualty mounted, which would have been curtailed if the plans were in place.