RNPP: 24 stations installed to monitor radiation
A total of 24 automated emergency response environmental monitoring stations have been installed in the surrounding area of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant to monitor, collect data on and analyse potential environmental impacts related to radiation.
The stations are being used to regularly test air quality, grass, milk, vegetables, soil and water in nearby areas.
Project Director Dr Md Kabir Hossain said that, in future, radiation levels will also be regularly measured through these monitoring stations.
He added that no significant negative environmental changes have been recorded around nuclear power plants operating in different countries.
However, the system has been introduced as a precautionary measure to ensure public confidence and the highest level of safety.
The monitoring stations have been installed at multiple locations surrounding the nuclear facility.
In addition, a high-capacity monitoring tower has been set up in Dhaka.
Through this automated environmental monitoring system, data from areas adjacent to the plant are being continuously collected and analysed.
A central control room has been established in the secure Green City residential zone of the project, where operations are monitored round the clock under strict security arrangements.
Sources linked to the project said the modern monitoring system was installed free of charge by Russia, the project’s partner country, at the request of former Project Director Dr Shawkat Akbar.
The system has been storing environmental data on air, soil, water, grass, vegetables and milk in the surrounding area for nearly a decade.
Following the recent inauguration of uranium fuel loading and the “physical start-up” of the plant’s first unit, close monitoring will be carried out to assess any environmental impact or changes in radiation levels during electricity generation.
Experts say that in the event of any accident or abnormal situation leading to radiation leakage, the monitoring stations will be capable of detecting it rapidly.
There are also plans to make collected data available to the public at regular intervals.
Separate radiation monitoring devices have also been installed to ensure the safety of personnel working at the plant.
