1. News & Analysis
An Indian official confirmed the leakage of radiation at the power station at Kalpakkam Reprocessing Plant (KARP). B. Bhattacharjee, director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), told the newspaper Outlook (India): "This is the worst accident in radiation exposure in the history of nuclear India." The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), however, denied any link between the radiation leakage and the reported high incidence of polydactyly (a condition in which children are born with extra fingers or toes).
An opinion piece by NM Sampath Kumar (South Asia Tribune, US) states that a "team of unbiased nuclear experts under IAEA must get the mandate to inspect, cap, and roll back the nuclear program."
"India's Worst Radiation Accident"
"No radiation risk in Kalpakkam: AERB"
"Why All of India's Nuclear Plants Should Immediately be Shut Down"
In response to the KARP crisis, the Daily Times (Pakistan) observes that "the bombs in South Asia are a phantom weapon for the masses whose consequences are kept a secret from them." In an opinion piece in the same paper, M.V. Ramana examines the growth of the military-industrial complexes in India and Pakistan in the context Russia and the US' legacy of the Cold War. "The sooner they are stopped," Ramana writes, "the better."
"Editorial: Danger of nuclear accidents in S. Asia"
"Enduring nuclear legacies"