No radioactive waste leakage into Thane creek from BARC, govt tells Parliament

 There is no leakage of radioactive waste into the Thane creek from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Trombay, Union minister Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha today.

An environmental surveillance programme is carried out regularly at Thane creek for the measurement of various man- made radionuclides in different matrices like water, biota and sediment, the minister of state, who holds multiple portfolios, said in a written reply to a question.

"There is no leakage of radioactive waste in Thane Creek from BARC facilities at Trombay. All effluents are treated to bring the discharge levels well below the stringent regulatory limits set by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) before they are discharged from the BARC facilities to the Thane Creek," he said.

From the analysis, it is observed that the levels of radioactivity in the creek are "particularly the same as that of natural background", he added.

"Hence, there is no hazard to the health of general public and to the environment due to discharges from BARC facilities," he said.