N-Pollution on the seas? No, says Jayanthi

There is no increase in the pollution level from radioactive substances on sea water. This has been reported by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), The Environmental Survey Laboratories (ESL) are installed at all atomic power station sites and the mining sites under DAE well before the commissioning of the facility. ESLs carry out pre-operational survey to establish the pre-operational baseline radioactivity levels in and around the site. During operation of the reactor, environmental samples such as air, water (including sea water wherever applicable), surface water, soil, vegetations, agricultural produces, milk, meat and other dietary products are collected periodically and analyzed for radioactivity.

Responding to a question by Bhudeo Choudhary in Lok Sabh today, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan in a written reply said ESLs are equipped with highly sensitive instruments and sufficient infrastructure to analyze extremely low levels of radioactivity in environmental samples. The radioactivity levels in environmental samples are compared with pre-operational values in the respective matrix. The studies carried out at various power station sites have clearly indicated that there is no build up of radioactivity in any of the environmental matrix and the same is true for the sea water for the facilities situated at coastal sites like Tarapur and Kalpakkam. The annual dose to the general public from reactor effluents are extremely low and are far below the regulatory limits prescribed by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).

A systematic environmental monitoring carried out regularly ensures management of environmental activity in the public domain and helps in keeping it well below the prescribed limit of AERB.

AERB enforces strict regulation on the limits of radioactivity released to public domain. The plant management ensures its compliance. Regular monitoring is done by the ESL and the results are submitted to the AERB.

Green buildings: CREDAI, TERI ink MoU

Dr. RK Pachauri Director General, TERI and Mr. Lalit Kumar Jain, National President CREDAI, jointly sign the MoU and announce the partnership
NEW DELHI,November 25, 2011 (Business Wire India: In an endeavor to strengthen the green building movement in India and promotion of GRIHA with the members and associates of CREDAI, the Association for Development and Research on Sustainable Habitats (ADaRSH) and Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) have signed a memorandum of understanding declaring that both shall cross-market & facilitate wherever appropriate, each other’s services to promote and accept the GRIHA Rating system as the reference standard for determining incentives, educating and promoting green buildings in India.


Both CREDAI and ADaRSH would jointly approach municipal bodies to come up with incentives for green buildings and accept GRIHA as the reference standard for determining the incentives. The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has already set an example by announcing mandatory compliance of their future government projects with GRIHA, and soon other municipal bodies are also expected to join the movement.


GRIHA – (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) is India’s national rating system for sustainable habitats. It is an indigenous system designed and developed by the MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy) in collaboration with TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute). ADaRSH has trained over 10,000 professionals, students, and government officials in various capacities on green habitats in the Indian context. ADaRSH firmly believes in equipping professionals and the real estate industry with the requisite skills to design and build sustainable habitats, such that dependency on a handful of green building professionals is minimized.


ADaRSH- (Association for Development and Research of Sustainable Habitats) is an independent society, registered under the Societies Act, 1860 for the interaction on scientific and administrative issues related to sustainable habitats in the Indian context. It was founded jointly by MNRE (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India) and TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi) along with a handful of experts in the fields related to sustainability of built environment from across the country. ADaRSH promotes GRIHA – The National Rating System (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) as a design and evaluation tool for green buildings and habitats.