Nuclear power plant shut down
2004-12-27 22:28
New Delhi - Huge waves that battered the Indian coastline after an earthquake in Indonesia may have damaged a nuclear power plant in southern Tamil Nadu state, the government said on Monday.
The Press Trust of India news agency said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had called a meeting on Tuesday to review any damage to the plant.
Authorities on Sunday shut down the Indira Gandhi Atomic Energy Centre in Kalpakkam, 80km south of Tamil Nadu capital Madras as a precaution.
Water seeped into the facility, which is located on the coast, after the tsunami hit following Sunday's earthquake.
"Information reaching here suggests that facilities at Kalpakkam nuclear station may have been affected by the tidal waves," said a spokesperson from the prime minister's office.
"The prime minister will chair a meeting with the Atomic Power Commission on Tuesday to review the damage, if any, caused to the nuclear power plant," he added.
A senior scientist said on Sunday one unit of the nuclear power plant had been "shut down safely and cooled down".
The private NDTV news channel said 1 500 families in the Kalpakkam township of Tamil Nadu had been evacuated by government relief agencies.
There are 2 290 scientists and engineers working in the nuclear power facility in Kalpakkam.