ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Pokhran II exposes failure of CTBT seismic network, says Chidambaram

The Pokhran II nuclear tests have exposed the weaknesses of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty monitoring system for its failure of seismic network to detect low-yield explosions, said Dr R Chidambaram, chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, today.

The seismic network has failed to detect small-yield explosions because of hardware limitations and the incorrect estimation by some -- though not all -- foreign seismologists of the yields of separated simultaneous explosions because of software and analytical inadequacies, he said, addressing a gathering of scientists and technocrats on the founder's day celebrations at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in north-east Bombay.

Talking to newspersons, he refuted the findings of a group of foreign scientists which stated that the yields from Indian tests are only one-fourth of what has been claimed. He maintained that the total yield of the five tests on May 11 and 13 were around 85 kilo-tonnes, and the yield of the thermonuclear device, commonly known as the hydrogen bomb was 45 KT. The thermonuclear device was a two-stage system using a boosted fission device as the first stage and the total yield of the device can raised to 200 KT or even more, he said.

He said India was forthcoming in giving details of the Pokhran II nuclear tests, and these tests are of 1998-vintage, and the robust designs were based on today's knowledge of physics, materials science, engineering and electronics. "Not only have several seismic stations of the meteorological department endorsed our tests but India has also details from seven accelerometers and five geophones close to the shafts. The details received from the recorded data of accelerometers will be released soon," he said.

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report