Kundakulam

Kundakulam is India’s first nuclear plant to use imported PWR

technology.It is the largest nuclear power station in India
.Kundakulam powerplant project was proposed by Indian
Government at Kudankulam village of Tirunelveli district
in Tamil Nadu.
•Theplace is notable as the construction site of the Kudankulam
Nuclear Power Plant .
•The plant would be the largest nuclear power generation complex in
India producing electric power both water cooled and water
moderated power reactors .
•It is one of the largest wind farms in India.
Kundankulam Atomic power project is a
nuclear power station under construction in
Koodanankulam .
► An inter Government agreement on the project was signed in November 1988
by Prime Minister Late Rajiv Gandhi and soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev
for the construction of two reactors .
► The project remained pending due to the political and economic upheaval in
Russia after the post 1991 Soviet breakup .
► Construction began only in September 2001 and the cost was estimated to be
Rs13,615 Crores .
► A small port became operational in Kundankulam on 14th January 2004.
Relevance of Kudankulam Nuclear Plant

► Indo Russia Ties –Amalgamation of national & international political

diplomatic agreements .
► Nuclear Power Generations .
► Power generation has increased from230MW to 300MW which will reach 1000
MW soon .
► The plant is updated with modern day to day Russian Nuclear & Scientific
Technology.
Technological & Economic reasons for
selecting Kundankulam Site.
► The site selection committee suggested setting up a nuclear powerplant in
Kundankulam based on the large land and sea areas available of cooling water
and low population distribution in that village.
► They get the cooling water and process water from sea and transport the fuel
from other countries to our country via sea which was a easy way .
Problems in Kudankulam Nuclear
Powerplant before getting permission .
► The coolant water and low grade water from the KKNPP are going to be
dumped into the sea which will have severe impact on fish production &
catch.It would affect the fishing industry,push the fisherfolks with no work for
people staying in coastal Tamil Nadu and Southern Kerala.
► When the project starts it would emit severe radioactive particles which
would affect their land ,air ,crops ,cattle , sea .
► The Southern coastal is already facing problems due to private and
government sea sand mining for rare minerals since years .
► The ruling political party then also had announced that the central
government will not give permission to KKNPP as they were violating the
coastal regulation zone.
► The people of Kundakulum protested against the setup of nuclear powerpoints
for the purpose of safety and their livelihood depending on it .
► A major environmental concern relating to nuclear power is the creation of
radioactive wastes such as uranium, radioactive wastes.These materials can
remain radioactive and dangerous to human health for thousands of years .
► The high temperature produced during a nuclear reaction causes thermal
pollution thereby affecting the life forms .
► Radiations are continuously released by radioactive waste produced by these
power plants that affect mankind for generations making it hazardous .
Case study :Cyberattack hits Indian
Nuclear Plant .
► According to the NPCIL statement, the malware attack on KKNPP was noticed
Sept. 4 by the CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team), which is
the national agency for responding to cybersecurity incidents. An
investigation by India’s Department of Atomic Energy revealed that a user had
connected a malware-infected personal computer to the plant’s
administrative network. While the plant’s operational network and systems
are separate from and not connected to the administrative network, one
newspaper reported that there may have been a second “more serious”
target.VirusTotal, a virus scanning website owned by Google’s parent
company, Alphabet, has indicated that a large amount of data from the
KKNPP’s administrative network has been stolen. If this is true, subsequent
attacks on the nuclear power plant could target its critical systems more
effectively. Cyberattacks on nuclear power plants could have physical effects,
especially if the network that runs the machines and software controlling the
nuclear reactor are compromised. This can be used to facilitate sabotage,
theft of nuclear materials, or — in the worst-case scenario — a reactor
meltdown. In a densely populated country like India, any radiation release
► Implications of cyber attack could be :
► If the network that runs the machines and software controlling the nuclear
reactor are compromised, cyber attacks on nuclear power plants could have
physical effects.
► This can be used to facilitate sabotage, theft of nuclear materials and
sensitive information, or at its worst, a reactor meltdown.
► In a densely populated country like India, any radiation release from a nuclear
facility would be a major disaster.
► Threats may be posed by nation states, terrorists, extremists, criminals
including organized groups,outsiders such as suppliers or insiders acting
intentionally or negligently.
► Systems are going to be breached - even one that may be disconnected from
the Internet. Those looking to attack critical infrastructure can wait for years
for a single mistake to be made.
► As the digitalization of nuclear reactor instrumentation & control systems
increases, potential for malicious and accidental cyber incidents also
increases. Authorities responsible for cyber security of nuclear installations
have to be constantly on the vigil. Today’s defenses are no longer adequate
and a fresh look at how to protect nuclear facilities from cyber attack is
needed.