No need to panic over Kaiga incident: Top N-scientist

Principal scientific advisor to the government of India R Chidambaram, said on Tuesday, that there was no need to panic over the issue of recent incident of radiation contamination in the drinking water cooler at Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant in Karnataka.

"The incident in Kaiga was too small and there is no need to panic over it," Chidambaram told media-persons when asked to comment over the issue after the inauguration of the second Bhartiya Vigyan Sammelan 2009 in Indore. He said traces of tritium were found in the urine samples of number of employees but it will pass out through the urinating process adding it is a small thing and there is no need to panic on the issue.

Tritium had been found in the urine samples of staffers who drank contaminated water from a cooler at the Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant. However, Chidambaram refused to go into the details of the incident saying an inquiry was underway. "We should wait for the enquiry report," he said. He said all the nuclear power plants in the country were in a proper shape, and intact with safe waste disposal system.