Paris/New Delhi:
Experts say the Fukushima nuclear disaster could be Level 6, just one notch below the Chernobyl disaster. As Japan tries desperately to control the damage, government's across the world are now stepping up efforts to assess how safe their own nuclear reactors are.
And that includes India, which will see French EPR reactors being installed at Jaitapur in Maharashtra soon.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made a detailed statement in Parliament and has ordered a review of safety systems at all the nuclear plants in the country. (
Read: PM orders review of safety at Indian nuclear plants)
Concerns have been raised about the nuclear park planned in Jaitapur because it's in a coastal area. The French EPR reactors are supposedly the safest but are not up and running anywhere in the world yet.
Fukushima's reactor number 3 uses a fuel called mixed oxide (MOX) which contains plutonium. Scientists say plutonium if released stays in the environment for thousands of years. It is also one of the most highly toxic substances known.
"If you absorb one microgram of plutonium in your organism for sure you will get cancer," says Sortir du Nucleaire (Phasing Out of the Nuclear Age) coordinator Anne-Laure Meladeck.
Scientists also warn that nuclear technology should be dealt with caution in coastal areas and areas where the population density is high. Seismic activity they say is hard to predict as in the Japan's case.
"If we want safe nuclear energy then words will not do... we need strict safety protocols that are clearly not in place today as the Japanese incident demonstrates," Roland Debordes, a scientist with the Commission of Independent Research & Information on Radioactivity (CRIIRAD) told NDTV.
The Government of India today said it can look at putting in place additional environmental safeguards to ensure safety of the proposed nuclear reactors in Jaitapur.
(Read: Can add safeguards at Jaitapur nuclear power plant, says Jairam)
The European Union said today it will 'stress test' all its nuclear plants. EU Energy Commissioner Geunther Oettinger said the stress etsts would see how the 143 reactors in EU member countries respond to emergencies.
(Read) German Chancellor Angela Merkel has already announced the provisional shut-down for three months of seven ageing nuclear reactors. Switzerland has suspended the approvals process for three nuclear power stations.