SCIENCE REPORT

Nuclear Programme

 

The Indian nuclear saga can be traced to 1944 when Dr. Homi Jahangir Bhabha approached the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust with a proposal to set up an institute for fundamental research. Subsequently, the Tata institute of Fundamental Research, which came up in 1945 in Mumbai, provided the base and the structure for organizing the early efforts for India's nuclear energy programme. The Atomic Energy Act was passed on 15 April 1948 and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was set up on 10 August 1948 under the Chairmanship of Dr. Bhabha to give an impetus to nuclear energy research. In fact, India was among the first eight countries of the world to have an atomic energy commission.

 

Even before the country attained Independence, India's visionary leaders had foreseen the potential of peaceful applications of nuclear energy.

 

India's first research reactor, Apsara, became operational at Trombay in 1956. It was the first nuclear reactor in Asia to do critical, even before China and Japan has theirs.

 

With uranium availability continuing to pose problems, Indian scientists came up with a mixture of plutonium and uranium carbides. This was a major breakthrough in the country's efforts to reach total self – reliance in nuclear fuel.

 

In 1954, a major part of the work on atomic Energy Establishment (AEET) was set up. The AEC, which had been functioning under the Ministry of Natural, was brought under the Department of Atomic Energy from 3 August 1954 with Dr. Homi Bhabha as Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). The DAE functioned under the direct control of Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and continued to remain under the direct charge of successive Prime Ministers since then.

 

It was after the death of Dr. Bhabha (on 26 January 1966), that the AEET was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on 12 January 1967 by the Prime Minister Ms. Indira Gandhi.

 

India's first research reactor, Apsara, became op0erational at Trombay in 1956. It was the first nuclear reactor in Asia to go critical, even before China and Japan had theirs India's quest for peaceful utilization of nuclear energy had begun in right earnest. The first nuclear reactor for power generation in India was commissioned at Tarapur in Maharashtra in 1969.

 

Nuclear Power Programme

 

India's nuclear power generation programme has been heavily dependent on the availability of indigenous uranium, which unfortunately is quite modest. But Indian has large reserves of the mineral thorium in the beach sands of Kerala, which can be turned into uranium – 233 for use in nuclear reactors. Keeping in view the availability of nuclear fuel and self – reliance as a long – term strategy, Dr. Bhabha in 1959 drew up a three – stage programme of nuclear power generation.

 

In the first stage, in view of India's limited uranium reserves, initial reactors would be fuelled by natural uranium and moderated by heavy water (also known as Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor, or PHWR). In the second stage, breeder reactors, fuelled by plutonium produced in the first – generation reactors, would be used to generate power and also produce more plutonium from the non – fissile uranium – 238, which makes up more than 97% of natural uranium. The breeder reactors would also produce uranium – 233 from thorium found in monazite sand, to be used as fuel in the third stage.

 

In 1958, however, on grounds of technical and economic viability, it was decided to have two enriched – uranium – fulled light water moderated reactors (also known as Boiling Water Reactors, or BWRs) for the country's first atomic power station at Tarapur, in Maharashtra. The two 200 – MW reactors, which used ordinary water as moderator and coolant, were supplied by a US firm, and the fuel had also to be imported from there. But after the Pokhran – I nuclear test in 1974, the US suspended its supply of enriched uranium fuel. However, very soon Indian nuclear scientists had had an alternative ready – mixture of natural uranium and plutonium oxides, known as MOX fuel.

 

The reactors for the country's second atomic power station at Rawatbhata near Kota in Rajasthan and all the subsequent atomic power stations are based on a Canadian design known as CANDU. The CANDU reactors run on easily available nature uranium. The expensive heavy water for moderation and cooling was also initially supplied by Canada. But soon Indian attained indigenous capability to produce enough heavy water at its eight heavy water plants (located at Nangal, Talcher, Manuguru, Tatucorin, Thal, Hazira, Vadodhara, and Rawatbhata) to meet the entire requirement for its atomic power generation programme.

 

Indian scientists and industries were quick to tune in to sophisticated technologies and soon these technologies and soon these technologies were being developed indigenously. For instance, the indigenously. For instance, the indigenous component of the second unit at Rawatbhata went up to 70% from 55% of the first unit. By the time India's twelfth atomic power reactor came up at Kaiga in Karnataka in March 2000, the indigenous content had gone up to more than 98%.

 

The uranium for India's atomic power plants is mined at Jaduguda and Narwapahar in Jharkhand, and the fuel rods are produced at the Nuclear Fuel Complex at Hyderabad. The NFC has several advanced technologies that have been developed indigenously.

 

With a capacity of 3,260 MWe, 15 atomic power plants are operating in the country – three at Tarapur (Maharashtra), two each at Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), Narora (Uttar Pradesh), Kakrapar (Gujarat) and Kaiga (Karnataka) and four at Rawatbhata (Rajasthan). Currently, seven nuclear power plants are under construction – one at Tarapur, two each at Rawatbhata, Kaiga and Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu). This will add another 3,420 to the grid.

 

Keeping in view the availability of nuclear fuel and self – reliance a long – term strategy, Dr. Bhabha in 1959 drew up a three – Stage programme of nuclear power generation.

 

Breeding Fuel

 

To roll in the second stage of the country's atomic power development programme, efforts had already been initiated to develop indigenous breeder reactor papability. A breeder reactor produces more fuel than it consumes. It is also called past breeder because it uses fast neutrons.

 

The first prototype fast breeder test reactore (FBTR) was built indigenously at the Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre (IGCAR) at Kalpakkam near Chennai. With uranium availability continuing to pose problems, Indian scientists came up with a mixture of plutonium at uranium carbides. This was a major breakthrough in the country's efforts to reach total self – reliance in nuclear fuel. Today, Indian is one among seven countries with demonstrated capability in the design, construction and operation of fast breeder reactors (the others being USA, Frnace, Russia, UK, Germany and Japan).

 

But after the Pokhran – I nuclear test in 1974, the US suspended its supply of enriched uranium fuel. However, very soon Indian nuclear scientists had an alternative ready – a mixture of natural a mixture of natural uranium and plutonium oxides, known as MOX fuel.

 

Research Reactors

 

Along with its power generation programme, the country also went ahead with developing research reactors to keep the nuclear programme in tune with changing times. The first research reactor Apsara, entirely designed, fabricated and commissioned indigenously, was commissioned indigenously, was commissioned at Trombay in 1956. It was a small 'swimming pool' type of reactor in which rods of uranium fuel are immersed in a pool of water.

 

Apsara provided a source of neutrons for physicists, chemists, and biologists to carry out experiments in nuclear physics, reactors physics, radiochemistry, and materials science, and to study effects of nuclear radiation. After Apsara, four more research reactors were set up at Trombay for carrying out nuclear studies and production of radioisotopes. The second reactor, CIRUS was set up in 1960 and the third in 1970  - the High Intensity Radiation Utilization Project (HIRUP) at Trombay. The fourth and the largest of them was Dhruva, which went into operation in August 1985. Again Dhruva was instrumental in providing neutrons for experimental pourposes.

 

But neutrons were not the only outcome of these research reactors. The reactors also produced radioisotopes that had tremendous applications in medicine and other fields. They are useful as 'markers' or 'tracers' in chemical and biological research. They are also used as radiation sources for industrial and medical radiography and for treatment of cancer. Radiation from radioisotopes also find use in agriculture to develop new mutants for improved yields and better pest resistance; for treatment of grains, pulses, spices and vegetables and food products to improve their shelf life; and for sterilization of medical products and treatment of municipal sewage.

 

On to the Third Stage

 

In the third stage of India's atomic power generation programme it was proposed to use uranium – 233 as fuel. Uranium – 233 does not occur in nature, but can be produced artificially by irradiating the element thorium in a nuclear reactor. Indian has plentiful reserves of thorium.

 

In May 1984, the first ever reactor to use uranium – 233 as fuel , named PURNIMA – II, was commissioned at BARC. It was a small experimental reactor. A large version (30 kW) was commissioned at IGCAR in October 1996. The reactor, named KAMINI (for KAlpakkam MINI), is one of its only kind in the world currently operating with uranium – 233 based nucler fuel. Indian's next generation of reactor, called Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), which will employ thorium based fuel, is being developed at Trombay. It was use thorium oxide fuel, light water coolant and heavy water as moderator.

 

In February this year the Kaiga – 3 unit of the Kaiga Nuclear Power Project went critical. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh praising the development remarked : 'This testifies to the impressive capability developed by our Department of Atomic Energy in the indigenous design and construction of nuclear power plants, which is central to the Country's threestage nuclear programme.'

 

Meanwhile, BARC is working on development of a Compact High Temperature Reactor with the aim of producing hydrogen – slated to be the most important energy resource of the future. Work is also going on for the development of Accelerator Driven Systems to sustain growth with thorium system. And, the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR) is developing a fusion based system for the production of energy. One of the production of energy. One of the world's first superconducting steady state tokamak is also meaning completion at IPR.

 

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