new delhi

India is to throw open two of its nuclear reactors for inspection by international experts. It has also invited International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) specialists to review the design of its new 500-MW reactors — the first invitation in its 40-year nuclear history.

Hans Blix, director general of the IAEA, last week applauded the Indian proposal for international peer review. He said: “It may be an effective method of discovering shortcomings.” Blix was in Delhi to inaugurate a world conference on the role of nuclear energy for sustainable development to mark the fiftieth year of India's independence and the fortieth anniversary of the IAEA.

The moves are seen as a response to criticism (see Nature 381, 723; 1996) that the country operates vintage reactors of unsafe design. India also wants to dispel the notion it is living in nuclear isolation having refused to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

“Opening up our power plants or subjecting their design to peer review has nothing to do with the IAEA convention on safety of nuclear plants, which India has signed but not ratified,” says Yelleswarapu Sivaram Prasad, managing director of the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC), which designs, builds and operates the country's nuclear power stations.

“What we are doing is voluntary and is a confidence-building measure,” says Prasad, “We want the world nuclear community to find out for themselves that our designs are good and safe.”

India has eight 220-MW pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWR) and two US-built 160-MW light-water reactors in operation. Prasad says the Kakrapar nuclear power station in Gujarat, consisting of two PHWR units, will be opened up in November 1997 for visits by members of the Tokyo-based World Association of Nuclear Operators.

“They are free to inspect the control and safety features installed in the power station and watch all the activities going on,” Prasad says. “We are not afraid of criticism.”

The 220-MW units are based on a standardized Canadian design, but the IAEA team will also review the 500-MW scaled-up version, the first reactor fully designed by NPC. “Should any changes be suggested, we will incorporate them,” Prasad says. The first two reactors in the 500-MW series are to be built at Tarapur near Bombay (now Mumbai) with construction to start next year.

Officials hope the open policy may also help India boost its nuclear power production through private-sector participation, both Indian and foreign.