Lanka gets ready with nuke early warning system as India finalises project

As India builds nuclear power plants in South India, Sri Lanka will be taking appropriate action by setting up a related facility – a Nuclear Early Warning System. The monitoring equipments will be installed in Navy camps at strategic points in the North and East. In response to a potential radiation threat from nuclear plants in Southern India, the Atomic Energy Authority (AEA), the Disaster Management Centre and the Sri Lanka Navy signed an agreement a tri-party agreement on June 28. Attending the signing were Power and Energy Minister Patalie Champika Ranawaka and Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera.

India’s controversial Kundakulam Nuclear Power Plant is only 220 kilometres from Kalpitiya, and the Madras Atomic Power Station in Kalpakkam is only 300 km from Kankesanthurei. An accident at either plant would release radioactive material into the atmosphere. Dispersed radionuclides could end up in Sri Lanka.

In 2010, the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Authority sent out requests for the technical support to set up the Early Warning System. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently gave Sri Lanka equipment worth 72,000 Euros. The IAEA has trained staff at the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Authority and the Disaster Management Centre in how to respond to nuclear disaster.

Initially, nuclear detectors will be set up in Kalpitiya, Thalaimannar, the Delft islands and Kankesanthurai. Later, detectors will be installed in Colombo, Galle, Trincomalee and Kandy.