New Delhi - Nearly 50 workers at a nuclear plant in India's southern state of Karnataka became ill after a radioactive substance contaminated their drinking water, news reports and officials said Sunday. Between 45 and 55 workers at the Kaiga plant of the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) were hospitalized and treated after receiving higher levels of radiation than permissible, the Times of India and the Hindu newspapers reported.
The incident took place on Wednesday but news trickled out only late Saturday after all the workers were discharged from a hospital near the plant, some 500 kilometres north of state capital Bangalore.
Preliminary investigations showed the drinking water was contaminated with 'tritium', a highly radioactive substance, from a cooler near one of the reactors.
The cooler which had contaminated water supposed to be shut, officials quoted by the NDTV network said it was opened in an "act of mischief by an insider."
Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar downplayed any radiation scare and asserted that there was no danger either to the exposed workers or to the environment.
The incident was being viewed "seriously" and investigations were ordered, Kakodkar said. He ruled out sabotage by an outsider.
"It is not so much a security issue but certainly a malevolent act by an insider that needs to be taken seriously," he told reporters.
"Of course it is a case of a few people getting exposed beyond the permissible radiation levels. But I also wish to clarify that the permissible levels which have been fixed are a large margin away from levels which can cause harm," he said.
An NPCIL statement said a thorough search did not indicate any leak of heavy water from reactor systems, and added the water cooler was "isolated and put out of use."
"The incident didn't affect public, safety, health or the environment and the cause of the contamination is being investigated," the statement said.
