Building Resilience Against Nuclear Disaster

Abstract

Disaster risk reduction, mitigation, and resilience issues as of today form the core of any states’ policy intervention. A huge gap exists between developed and developing world in general for preparedness and handling of nuclear disaster capabilities, India being the particular case. Fukushima nuclear disaster and capture of Zaporizhzhia and Chernobyl nuclear power plants in Ukraine by Russian forces have raised alarms regarding nuclear security and safety issues. A global demand for better approaches and methods for building resilience against disasters in general and nuclear disaster in particular is established worldwide, including India. India in recent years performed unsatisfactorily in handling of COVID-19 pandemic in terms of safety, resources, health infrastructure, specialized medicines, vaccines, and medical personnel; therefore, massive policy interventions of the Indian state for building resilience against nuclear disaster are required. The study inquires India’s imperatives for dependence on nuclear energy with probable dangers of a nuclear disaster. It maps domestic legislations, international obligations, preparations, and necessary structures for building resilience against nuclear disaster. It explores various strategies, necessary groundworks, and lessons learned in aftermath of past nuclear disasters, for mitigating disaster risks and building resilience against future nuclear disaster. The methodology used for the study is largely content analysis of literature available in public domain. There are three sections in this study: the first section discusses probable causes for rising threats of nuclear disaster; the second section highlights various levels of nuclear disaster mitigation planning; and the last section presents conclusion by identifying contemporary challenges and emerging debates regarding fresh policy interventions in India for making it a nuclear disaster-resilient society.