Annual Report 1 9 9 9-2000

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IN0000722 ANNUAL REPORT 1 9 9 9-2000

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY 3 1/30 ANNUAL REPORT 1999-2000

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY CONTENTS

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1

2. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATIONS Bhabha Atomic Research Centre 2. 1 Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research 2. 29 Centre for Advanced Technology 2. 37 Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre 2. 42 Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration & Research 2. 45

3. PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. 3. 1 Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. 3.8 Indian Rare Earths Ltd. 3.9 Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. 3.10

4. INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES Heavy Water Board 4. 1 Nuclear Fuel Complex 4. 3 Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology 4. 5

5. SERVICE ORGANISATIONS Directorate of Purchases & Stores 5. 1 Directorate of Construction, Services & Estate Management 5. 2 General Services Organisation 5. 2

6. AIDED INSTITUTIONS Tata Institute of Fundamental Research 6. 1 Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics 6. 2 Tata Memorial Centre 6. 5 Mehta Research Institute of Mathematics & Mathematical Physics 6. 8 Institute of Mathematical Sciences 6. 8 Institute for Plasma Research 6. 9 Institute of Physics 6. 10 Atomic Energy Education Society 6.10

7. OTHER ACTIVITIES 7.1

ANNEX-I ORGANISATIONAL FUNCTIONS ANNEX-II PROGRAMME PROFILE

Cover: The state-of-the-art indigenously designed 220MWe pressurised heavy water reactor of the Kaiga Atomic Power Station which attained criticality on September 24, 1999. The reactor was synchronised to,the grid on December 2, 1999. Back Cover : 1NDUS-I, the first Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS) at Indore, which reached a beam current well above its design value. Atomic Energy Installations in India

SRINAGAR _v ' Nuclear Research Laboratory V GULMARG , \ * High Altitude Research Laboratory (BARC) NANGAL * Heavy Water Plant „ DELHI * Radio Pharmaceutical Laboratory (BRIT) RAWATBHATA -s * Rajasthan Atomic Power Narora Atomic Power Station (NPCIL) s Station 1&2 (NPCIL) % „.. ALLAHABAD * Rajasthan Atomic Power \ *' * Mehta Research Institute Project 3&4 (NPCIL) ">. -NARWAPAHAR * Heavy Water Plant (HWB) \ DIBRUGARH * RAPCOF (BRIT) \ * Uranium Mine (UdL) " Radio-lmmunoassay N MOUNTABU ^ _, ^JADUGUDA/BHATIN Centre (BRIT) * Nuclear Research Laboratory\ * Utamm Mill & Mmes(Uai.) s ^ ^TURAMDIH INDORE --. — -. s N * Uranium Mine (UCIL) 'Centrefor _- imj-—- Advanced-Technology fs s

BARODA s V-\ \ 'Heavy Water Plant (HWB) \ J \ • v AHEMDABAD s\V» s •Institute for Plasma ' N Research KAKRAPAR * Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (NPCIL) HAZIRA 'Heavy Water Plant (HWB) TARAPUR- * Tarapur Atomic Power Station (NPCIL) --CALCUTTA * Tarapur Atomic Power * Sana Institute of Project 3&4 (NPCIL) TALCHER Nuclear Physics 'Waste Immobilisation * Heavy Water Plant (HWB) * Variable Energy Plant (BARC)' " ^BHUBANESWAR Cyclotron Centre * Power Reactor Fuel Reprocessing 'Institute of Physics * Regional Radiation Plant (BARC) Medicine Centre (VECC) MUMBAI * Orissa Sands Complex/ * Radio Pharmaceutical Laboratory (BRIT) * Bhabha Atomic Research / / Thorium Plant (IRE-OAE) Centre / / * ISOMED Plant (BRIT) MANUGURU * Radiation Medicine * Heavy Water Plant (HW8) Centre (BARC) HYDERABAD 'Tata Institute of ' Electronics Cofporafon of India IMS Fundamental Research ' Atomic Minerals Division * Tata Memorial Centre * Jonaki Laboratory (BRIT) * Thorium Plant (IRE-DAEy * Nuclear Fuel Complex NEW MUMBAI < * Centre for Compositional * Radio Pharmaceutical Characterisation of Materials (BARC) Laboratories (BRIT) / * Beryllium Plant (BARC) ' THAL—-- ' •Heavy Water Plant (HWB) Institute of Mathematical Sciences 'KALPAKKAM KAIGA / * Madras Atomic Power Station (NPCIL) " Kaiga Atomic Power i l% * Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research Project (NPCIL) / / ' Kalpakkam Fuel Reprocessing Plant (BARC) GAURIBIDANUR ' / TUTICORIN * Seismic Station (BARC) / / * Heavy Water Plant(HWB) MYSORE J / •RareMinerals Plant(BARC) / BANGALORE ' * Radio Pharmaceutical Laboratory (BRIT) PALAYAKAYAL * New Zirconium Sponge Plant (NFC) KUDANKULAM * Kudankulam Atomic Power Project (NPCIL) QUILON— MANAVALAKURUCHI • Monazite Survey Project (IRE) * Minerals Seperation Plant (IRE) UDYOGMANDAL(ALWAYE) •Rare Earths Plant (IRE) CHAVARA * Minerals Separation Plant (IRE) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in India is a broad based multi-disciplinary organisation engaged in basic research, applied research, technology development and translation of the latter to industrial applications. As a result, the Department today builds its own nuclear reactors and associated nuclear fuel cycle facilities, is one of the leading producers of radioisotopes for use in industry, medicine, agriculture and research, and has established itself in hi-tech areas relating to accelerators, lasers, supercomputers, advanced materials, and sophisticated instrumentation. The stringent quality needs of nuclear technology have helped in upgrading the quality levels of the Indian industry. Besides all this, a pool of quality manpower has also been developed. Today, DAE is marching ahead with the mission enshrined in its mandate. For DAE, the year 1999-2000 was an epoch making period. The Department crossed a number of milestones, registered significant achievements, and took long strides in all its programmes. The highlights are :

Two state-of-the-art indigenously designed 220 megawatt(e) pressurised heavy water power reactors attained criticality one each at Kaiga (Karnataka) and Rawatbhatta (Rajasthan). The Kaiga Unit was synchronised to the grid. Both these Units will soon become commercial. INDUS-I, the first Synchrotron Radiation Source in India, reached a beam current well above its design value. The country's first Solid Storage Surveillance Facility (S3F) at Tarapur was inaugurated, making India fourth nation in the world to have such a facility. The Commercial Demonstration Plant for Radiation Processing of Spices set up at Vashi, Navi Mumbai by BRIT, became operational and regular processing of spices commenced. Radiation processed spices have large export market. NFC commissioned its new projects for the manufacture of Uranium Oxide Fuel, Uranium Fuel Assembly, and Zircaloy Fabrication. A supercomputer consisting of eight Pentium-Ill nodes, developed at BARC, reached a sustained speed of 2 giga flops (floating points per second).

With a power generation of about 11,950 million units during April 1, 1999 to February 29, 2000, the operating atomic power stations achieved an overall capacity factor of nearly 80%. The safety record of all the plants was also very satisfactory. The mixed carbide fuel for the Fast Breeder Test Reactor at Kalpakkam crossed a burnup of over 50,000 megawatt day/tonne. The overall performance and safety record of the operating Heavy Water Plants were excellent. The Fuel Reprocessing Plants at Trombay, Tarapur and Kalpakkam operated satisfactorily. In the field of mineral exploration, additional resources of uranium oxide were located at Wahkyn (Meghalaya).

At Talcher, a pilot plant for production of D2EHPA was commissioned. The quality of the product was found to be better than that of the imported one. Design, construction and development of a Remotely Operated Power MANipulator (ROPMAN) with six degrees of freedom, along with a gripper, was completed for hot cell

1.1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

applications at IGCAR. The farmer friendly nuclear research achieved the following : The groundnut variety TAG-24 was included in 'Package of Practices' for summer cultivation for Rajasthan by the Rajasthan Agricultural University, Udaipur; Several insect pheromones were synthesized, and trace element finger print pattern technique for determination of nutrients in soils was developed. In the field of environment, ISO-14001 certificate was awarded to the Narora Atomic Power Station while the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station got the Golden Peacock Award-1999 for its efforts in conservation of environment. To study the effects of low level radiation on human population living in the high background radiation areas, a new building for Low Level Radiation Research Laboratory (LLRRL) was inaugurated at Kollam, Kerala. The in-plant and environmental surveillance carried out at the uranium mines and mill of Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. (UCIL), minerals and monazite processing plants of the Indian Rare Earth Ltd. (IRE), and different fuel fabrication and related plants of the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), Hyderabad found all the parameters well within their regulatory limits. The scientists from BARC analysed the data from the measurements carried out at the time of the Pokhran tests in 1998 as well the radioactivity in the rock samples obtained by post-shot drilling and by bore hole logging at the test sites. These studies confirmed fully the initially declared yields and other design parameters for all the devices.

Following is the summary of DAE's activities during the period of report:

NUCLEAR POWER PROGRAMME The Nuclear Power Programme of DAE comprises building of pressurised heavy water reactors, fast breeder reactors and thorium reactors on commercial scale. Technology development relating to operation and maintenance of the reactors, waste management, safety and environment monitoring also forms part of the programme.

Power Generation The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) has 10 atomic power reactors in operation — two reactors each at Tarapur, Rawatbhata, Kalpakkam, Narora, and Kakrapar. Of these, Unit-1 of the Raj asthan Atomic Power Station at Rawatbhata is operated on behalf of the Govern- ment of India. For over five years, NPCIL has been showing consistent improvement in its operations. During April 1, 1999 to February 29, 2000, NPCIL increased the overall capacity factor of its atomic power stations to nearly 80% from a capacity factor of 75% during 1998-99 (excluding Rajasthan Atomic Power Station-1). It registered a gross electricity generation of about 11,950 million units during this period. The company achieved a net profit of nearly Rs.450 crore (Provisional) during the financial year 1999-2000 up to February 2000 and paid Rs. 50.44 crore as maiden dividend to the Govern- ment. Based on the targets set in memorandum for understanding (MoU) for the financial year 1998-99, the performance appraisal of NPCIL was rated as "Very Good". CRISIL upgraded its rating to "AA" from A+.

1.2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Power Projects under Construction Kaiga Atomic Power Project-1&2 (2x220 MWe PHWRs), Rajasthan Atomic Power Project- 3&4 (2x220 MWe PHWRs) and Tarapur Atomic Power Project-3&4 (2x500 MWe PHWRs) are the ongoing projects of NPCIL. One 220 megawatt(e) reactor each at Kaiga and Rawatbhatta attained criticality on September 24 and December 24,1999 respectively. The Kaiga unit was synchronised to the Southern grid on December 2, 1999 and the Rajasthan unit will follow suit soon. The main plant civil contracts of TAPP-3&4 Project were awarded and the works have progressed.

New Projects The Kudankulam Atomic Power Project (2x1000 MWe VVER) and Kaiga-3&4 (2x220 MWe PHWRs) are the new projects of NPCIL. Good progress has been made on the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Kudankulam Project and NPCIL has taken up pre-project activities relating to Kaiga-3&4 Project.

Fast Breeder Programme The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) has been engaged in the development of sodium cooled fast breeder reactors. Over the years, the Centre has established comprehensive R & D facilities in the field of fast breeders. Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) is its major research facility built indigenously. During the year, the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), with its small core, was successfully operated at 8 MWt with indigenously developed plutonium-uranium carbide fuel. The fuel reached a burnup level of 50,500 megawatt day/tonne by November 1999. Several experiments related to reactor safety, surveillance activities and others, were carried out. With this expertise, IGCAR has embarked on the design and development of 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) which will be the forerunner in the series of fast breeder reactors. Significant progress has been made in the design & development of components and systems of PFBR.

The major engineering development activities carried out by IGCAR, in support of PFBR, included the experimental studies on Large Component Test Rig (LCTR), component hydraulics, sodium pump and reactor instrumentation. The construction of PFBR is scheduled to commence during the last year of the IX Plan.

NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE Nuclear Fuel Cycle covers the entire range of programmes which support the nuclear power generation, and comprises mineral exploration, mining, heavy water production, fuel fabrication, fuel reprocessing and waste management. DAE has achieved self-reliance in all the nuclear fuel cycle activities. The DAE organisations engaged in the activities relating to Nuclear Fuel Cycle are : Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research, Uranium Corporation of India Ltd., Indian Rare Earths Ltd, Heavy Water Board, Nuclear Fuel Complex, BARC and IGCAR. The activities under the Nuclear Fuel Cycle are described as follows.

1.3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Mineral Exploration Exploration of mineral resources for the Nuclear Power programme of the country are carried out by the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD). Salient achievements and activities of AMD during the year were the following : - Additional resources of uranium oxide were located Wahkyn (Meghalaya), and inferred reserves of Yellapur Peddagattu blocks (Andhra Pradesh) were converted to indicated category by drilling in filling boreholes. -Continuity of ore grade uranium mineralisation (>0.10%) was established over considerable strike length at Gogi (Karnataka) and Koppunuru (Andhra Pradesh). Mineralised intercepts with better grade were also met in boreholes drilled at Ghateshwar in Rajasthan. -Noteworthy uranium occurrences were located by ground radiometric surveys in parts of West Khasi Hills district (Meghalaya); Solan and Sirmour districts (Himachal Pradesh) and Cuddapah district (Andhra Pradesh). -Airborne Gamma Ray Spectrometric and Aero-Magnetic surveys were carried out over 23,900 line km in parts of Bhima basin (Karnataka) and Vindhyan basin (Uttar Pradesh and Bihar). -Ground geophysical surveys narrowed down target areas and helped in deciphering mineralisation trends in parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. -New heavy mineral potential areas with significant heavy mineral content were identified along the coastal tracts of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. -Additional resources of about 220 tonnes of xenotime bearing polymineralic concentrate were estimated from riverine placers of Bihar. -The four recovery units located in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa produced 41.80 tonnes of xenotime bearing polymineralic concentrate, 3.37 tonnes of columbite-tantalite and 3.40 tonnes of beryl.

Mining Mining and ore processing of uranium ores and mineral sands are done by the Uranium Corpo- ration of India Ltd. (UCEL) and the Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IRE). Their functions and organisational set up are given under "DAE Organisations" at Annex-1. Both UCIL and IRE are public sector undertakings and their activities and achievements have been covered in this chapter under the section Public Sector Undertakings.

Heavy Water Production Heavy Water Board produces heavy water which is used in the pressurised heavy water reactors as moderator and coolant. During the year, the overall performance and safety record of the operating Heavy Water Plants were excellent. The cumulative production achieved exceeded the target scheduled for the period. The plants at Tuticorin, Baroda and Kota completed more than 8.6, 9.6 and 5.3 million manhours of continuous operation respectively. Due to the closure of old ammonia plants of Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation (GSFC), Baroda, the Heavy Water Plant, Baroda has been stopped since December 1998. A major modification for reviving operation of Baroda Plant was initiated by the HWB. Implementation of ISO-9002 quality system was carried out at Heavy Water Plant, Tuticorin. As a part of future diversification, an R&D Pilot Plant facility for production of D2EHPA

1.4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

solvent was successfully commissioned. The Process chemistry was provided by BARC.

Nuclear Fuel Fabrication The Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), Hyderabad meets the fuel and zircaloy requirements of all the nuclear power reactors in the country. In addition, NFC manufactures stainless steel tubes for other industrial applications. The projects commissioned during 1999-2000 were : New Uranium Oxide Fuel Project, New Uranium Fuel Assembly Project, and New Zircaloy Fabrication Project. Also, augmentation of Uranium Metal Production at Trombay reached its completion stage.

Nuclear Fuels Development With a burnup reaching over 50,000 MWd/tonne, the mixed carbide fuel in Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) performed extremely well. As a part of mixed carbide fuel development, samples of carbide fuels were fabricated for various studies. Progressive introduction of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel in reactors at Tarapur continued. Significant progress was made in the developments of fuel for Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR). This included fabrication and characterisation of mixed uranium-plutonium oxide fuel pellets of different compositions. After the successful demonstration of Sol-gel microsphere pelletisation technique for production of good quality high-density pellets suitable for PHWR fuel, a large-scale uranium-oxide microspheres preparation was undertaken at Trombay.

Fuel Reprocessing The Fuel Reprocessing Plants at Trombay, Tarapur and Kalpakkam operated satisfactorily. A facility for the separation of uranium-233 from thorium rods irradiated at CIRUS and DHRUVA reactors approached completion and revamping of PREFRE Plant at Tarapur continued. IGCAR's Lead Mini Cell (LMC), a demonstration facility for reprocessing of FBTR fuel on laboratory scale, reached advanced stage of completion. The safety and commissioning reports have been under review by the AERB's Safety Review Committee for Operating Plants (SARCOP). Work on Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant (FRFRP) also progressed. Various equipment reached the site. The process vessels, which are under fabrication, are expected soon. At Uranium-233 Extraction Plant, hot commissioning works related to the second campaign of uranium-233 extraction from thorium rods, were completed. Uranium-233 was extracted and converted to oxide form successfully.

Waste Management Work on revamping of the Waste Management Facilities at Tarapur, Trombay and Kalpakkam progressed. A major milestone of the radioactive waste management programme was the inauguration of country's first Solid Storage Surveillance Facility (S3F) at Tarapur. Solid Storage Surveillance is an important stage prior to the disposal of higher level wastes in deep geological repository. India is the fourth nation in the world to have such a hi-tech facility. At the Waste Immobilisation Project, Trombay an indigenously designed and manufactured vitrification furnace for immobilisation of highly active radioactive wastes in glass matrix was successfully commissioned. The furnace system has a unique design. The construction of the WIP-Trombay is expected to be completed soon. The construction of Waste Immobilisation Plant, Kalpakkam also made good progress.

1.5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

R&D Support to Nuclear Power The improved INGRESS for garter spring relocation in wet channels of PHWRs reached an advanced stage of testing at Trombay. At IGCAR, the PFBR core physics design codes were approved by the Validation Committee and safety analysis codes were also reviewed. The document on incident / accident analysis of PFBR was under review. Probabilistic safety analysis of the shutdown and decay heat removal systems made progress.

Quality Assurance ISO-9001 and ISO-14001 certificates were awarded to the Engineering Directorate at Head Quarters of NPCIL and the Narora Atomic Power Station respectively. Assessors from the Con- federation of Indian Industry (CII) commended NPCIL's strong commitment to the Total Quality Management (TQM). At Kalpakkam, Quality Assurance, Non-Destructive Testing and Quality Audit were conducted for various projects of IGCAR. These services were also provided to other units such as Heavy Water Plant (Manuguru), Tarapur Atomic Power Station etc. To cater to the needs of R & D and other engineering projects related to PFBR, a Quality Engineering Services and Testing Facil- ity was under augmentation.

Safety At Trombay, under the safety related technology development, work continued on augmentation of Facility for Accident Scenarios and Operational Transients. For the project Nuclear Aero- sol Test Facility (NATE), civil construction on the building has been completed. The radiological safety support to various nuclear power plants and other fuel cycle facilities was continued by BARC. This included assessment of the radiological status of the plant areas, safety reviews and other allied activities. The analysis of the data showed that the doses received within the exclusion zone (1.6 kilo metres) are much less than the limit prescribed by AERB. At Kaiga and RAPP 3&4, health physics laboratories and facilities were set up to meet the operation schedules. Countrywide personnel monitoring was conducted for 32,000 radiation workers of about 3000 industrial, medical, research and DAE institutions. Safety surveillance inspections were carried out in IGCAR and BARC Facilities at Kalpakkam, and programmes on safety education, first aid training, fire squad training etc., were also organised. The operating DAE units have drawn up comprehensive Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans to handle postulated emergency scenarios like Plant and Site Emergencies. A total of 245 exercises of different types were conducted during the year 1999 by the major DAE facilities. The Off Site Emergency Exercises were carried out in the public domain surrounding the nuclear power stations at Tarapur, Kalpakkam and Kaiga and the heavy water plants at Rawatbhatta and Manuguru. Guidelines were circulated to the State Governments and Union Ter- ritories for handling the presence or suspected presence of nuclear materials in the public domain. During the year, various organisations of DAE ensured Y2K readiness with respect to their functions. The Action Group at DAE monitored the implementation of Y2K resolution by all the DAE organisations. Particular attention was paid to both computer based systems and embedded components at the nuclear power stations, research reactors and other nuclear facilities. While continued safety in operations had been ensured, contingency plans, to handle any unanticipated

1.6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Y2K related problem, had also been drawn up by the various units. All these efforts helped in smooth transition to the year 2000.

Environment Environmental surveillance for radioactivity was conducted at the various nuclear power stations by the Environmental Survey Laboratories (ESL) of B ARC. To study the effects of low level radiation on human population living in the high background radiation areas, a Low Level Radiation Research Laboratory (LLRRL) building (a part of Mona- zite Survey Project at Kollam, Kerala) was inaugurated. For dispersion estimates, 3-dimensional meteorological model ADOCT (Atmospheric Disper- sion over Complex Terrain) was developed at Trombay. The efforts of Environmental Survey Laboratory, Rawatbhata led RAPS to win the coveted Golden Peacock Award -1999 instituted by the World Environment Foundation. At IGCAR, the work on the environmental impact assessment study for PFBR was completed. A 30 metre meteorological tower was installed for carrying out coastal atmospheric studies. One environmental gamma dose logger, an atmospheric sampler and a gamma tracer were designed, fabricated and tested by IGCAR, and environmental gamma dose was archived and analysed.

Environmental Surveys All the parameters were found to be well within their regulatory limits by the in-plant and environmental surveillance carried at the uranium mines and mill of UCIL at Jaduguda, Bhatin and Narwapahar, mineral and monazite processing plants of IRE at Udyogamandal, Chavara, Manavalakurichi and OSCOM (Chhatrapur), and in different fuel fabrication and related plants of NFC, Hyderabad. Environmental radiation monitoring was carried out in the coastal villages in the naturally high background areas of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Chhatrapur in Orissa. Also, for carrying out countrywide radon mapping, radon calibration facility was set up at Kalpakkam.

NON-POWER PROGRAMME The radiation and isotope technology programme is oriented to meet the growing demand of radioisotopes & radiation technology in industries, health care services, agriculture and research. | BARC has been producing radioisotopes for over four decades, and today the Centre is a leading | manufacturer of radioisotopes. The radioisotopes produced at Trombay have been in use in various industrial processes, testing and services. In the field of agriculture, high yielding mutant varieties of various crops have I been developed, nuclear technology has been established in reducing post-harvest losses by preventing damage from insect and microbial contamination and extension of shelf life. The Govern- ment of India have approved irradiation of a number of food items. The indigenous technology of radiation processing of food items has entered the commercial domain. Radioisotopes have also been used to improve fertilizer use efficiency, monitoring the fate and persistence of pesticides in soil, and ground water.

1.7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Research Reactors BARC's reactor programme provides R&D support to operating / under construction nuclear power plants, in meeting the growing demand of radioisotopes, and to provide facilities for basic and applied research, development of advanced reactors and associated technologies. The research reactors DHRUVA, CIRUS and APSARA at Trombay have been used for the production of radioisotopes besides their use in basic and applied research, irradiation testing of fuels & materials, and training. DHRUVA, which completed 14 years of successful operation, continued to be a major facility for radioisotope production, and served as a national facility for neutron beam research programmes. APSARA also functioned satisfactorily. To extend the useful life, refurbishing work on CIRUS continued. To enhance safety in operation & maintenance activities for the research reactors, internal regulatory inspections for the research reactors were introduced. Probabilistic Safety Analysis studies for DHRUVA reactor was also completed. The KAMINI reactor ~ a uranium-233 based system designed by BARC and set up at Kalpakkam, continued to perform well. It operated upto its rated power level of 30kW and was utilised for irradiation, activation analysis of samples and neutron radiography of specimens. The design and engineering development of Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) progressed and its physics and thermal hydraulics design was further optimised.

Radioisotope Technology

During the year 1999, more than 50,000 consignments of radioisotope products valued at Rs. 17.84 crore were supplied for use in industry, research, agriculture and health care. Radioisotope products and equipment valued about Rs. 1.5 crore were exported to countries such as United Kingdom, Germany, Sri Lanka, Syria, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Tanzania. The items exported included 1.85 PBq cobalt-60 source (Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh), G amma Chamber 5000 Unit (Atomic Energy Department of Myanmar), Fume Hood with accessories (Sri Lanka), and Laboratory Equipment and accessories of Tc-99m generator (Syria). An export order from Japan Radioisotope Association is under execution. BRIT fabricated and supplied a total of 12.95 PBq (350 kilocuries ) of radiation sources for use in industry, medicine, agriculture and research, and processed about 70.6 TBq ( 1910 curies ) of reactor produced radioisotopes for supply to various users and for formulation of a variety of radiopharmaceuticals. BRIT supplied over 900 consignments of carbon-14 and tritium labelled compounds and 1900 consignments of various labelled biomolecules to about 250 research institutions. The JONAKI laboratory at Hyderabad produced P-32 and P-33 labelled nucleotides meeting the indigenous research needs.

Radiation Sterilisation The ISOMED Plant, the facility operated by BRIT at Trombay, has been providing sterilisation service to the medical industries for over 25 years. ISOMED operated at 85% capacity factor and approx. 10,000 cu. metres (1,16,000 cartons ) of various medical products were radiation sterilised. A few million dai kits were sterilized at the plant by different manufacturers for supply to rural heath programme funded by WHO. ISOMED also continued production and supply of

1.8 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

items relevant to gamma radiation processing and health care programme. ISO-9002 certification process for ISOMED Services reached final stages of completion.

Industrial Applications Gamma scanning of 12 types of columns ( 2 to 9.1 metres in diameter and 40 to 60 metres high) was carried out for chemical and petrochemical industry. As a result of BARC's studies on sediment transport in the Hooghly estuary, Calcutta Port could effect substantial financial savings. Under the programme of radiation processing of natural polymers, the electron-beam-irradiation of polyethylene films blended with rice husk and bagasse was carried out by BARC. These radiation processed films were found to possess good mechanical strength and pronounced bio- degradability. To promote radiation processing using industrial electron accelerators, BARC is setting up at Khargar, a new Electron Beam Centre housing two industrial accelerators.

Radiation Medicine BRIT supplied over 45,000 consignments of different radiopharmaceuticals, cold kits and radioimmunoassay kits to various nuclear medicine centres and RIA laboratories for diagnostic and therapeutic uses. The Regional Centres at Bangalore and Delhi processed ready-to-use Tc-99m radiopharmaceuticals for use in their region, and the Dibrugarh and Bangalore centres offered radioimmunoassay service to local hospitals. New products introduced included MIBG Iodine-131 injection (IOM-50) and production of a kit for preparation of Tc-99m ECD injection ( TCK-42). At Trombay, the hydrogel preparations, developed for healing burn injuries, underwent clinical tests successfully. An indigenously assembled radiochromatography system for validation of labelled radiopharmaceutical preparations proved to be a good import substitute. BARC developed a process for preparation of Iodine-125 source for use in the treatment of ocular tumours and prostate cancer. The Radiation Medicine Centre (RMC) of BARC continued to serve as a regional referral centre of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the South East Asia. At the Regional Radiation Medicine Centre at Calcutta the medical LINAC benefitted more than 7000 patients during the year 1999. More than 1000 patients were provided with therapy and scanning facility. Radioimmuno-Assay serviced about 5000 patients.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY The research organisation of DAE are also engaged in the development of high technologies such as accelerators, lasers, cryogenics, pulse power, supercomputers and others. Many successes have been achieved under these programmes as follows:

Accelerators The accelerator programme of DAE is geared towards the development of accelerators to meet the needs of modern research and applications in the fields of medicine, agriculture and industry. The Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Calcutta; Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT), Indore, and BARC are the centres engaged in the research and development relating to accelerators.

1.9 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Variable Energy Cyclotron, a national research facility, has been in operation for over 25 years. The facility was undergoing upgradation for acceleration of heavy ions. The work for the upgradation of the VEC with Electron-Cyclotron-Resonance (ECR) heavy ion source developed in-house, almost reached completion. First beams of 115 MeV Oxygen and 150 MeV Neon were extracted with currents over 50 nano-ampere. The Centre continued to work on setting up a Superconducting Cyclotron and a Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility. Construction of the Superconducting Cyclotron building and fabrication of the major components of the accelerator progressed and ultrasonic testing of all the forgings for the main magnet frame was over. The Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) facility, which is technologically very challenging, is a collaboration project of VECC, SINP and RIKEN, Japan. Most of the systems / subsystems were either in the fabrication stage or ready for the start of assembly. The R&D I activities on some of the systems were underway.

Synchrotron Radiation Source At CAT, Indore, INDUS-1, the first Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS) in India, reached a current of 160 milli ampere on 28 July 1999, which was well above its design value. Only a dozen countries have the capability in designing and construction of such complex accelerators. INDUS-1 consists of three indigenously designed and developed accelerators namely a 20 MeV microtron, a 450 MeV booster synchrotron and 450MeV storage ring. To use the synchrotron radiation, five beamlines were designed and constructed by CAT, BARC and Inter-University Consortium for DAE facilities (IUC-DAEF). Theoretical design for INDUS-2 was also completed. At Trombay, the Folded Tandem Ion Accelerator (FOTIA), an indigenously designed and fabricated system reached final stages of commissioning. The accelerator is one of the few of its kind operating accelerators in the world. FOTIA will deliver light and heavy ion beams for use in basic and applied research in nuclear, atomic and material sciences. The BARC-TIFR Pelletron Accelerator Facility completed 11 years of successful operation. The research programme conducted at this facility have already made an impact on the international scene. The 500 KeV Industrial Accelerator was tested successfully upto a beam energy of 400 KeV. The Linear Accelerator (LINAC) facility at Trombay remained in continuous operation. It was also used by some universities.

Lasers CAT has been working on the development of biomedical laser applications. Applications of nitrogen lasers in diagnosis of certain cancers, yielded confirmatory results. For clinical use two prototype equipment were built and one was installed at the Cancer Screening Centre at Indore. A Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) facility was set up at Indore. It was used for growing thin films of wide band gap semiconductors. On PLD collaborative research on materials continued with the Inter-University Consortium (IUC), Indore; IIT-Madras and IIT-Bombay. Under the Development of Laser Materials Programme, CAT completed fabrication of a facility for making ferroelectric oxide thin films. It also established an indigenous facility for developing transparent ceramic plates of strategically important material. A number of lasers/instruments were developed and supplied to users. These were: a 300 mJ pulsed Nd:YAG laser, installed at the Syrian Atomic Energy Commission, IIT-Madras, IGCAR and Nagpur University; Surgical carbon dioxide laser systems supplied to a hospital at Guwahati

1.10 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

and AIIMS, New Delhi; a high power 2.5 kW carbon dioxide laser system for material processing delivered to Jadhavpur University, and one 500W multi-beam carbon dioxide laser system supplied to the Hindusthan Laser Ltd., Kodaikanal for sealing thermometer tubes. Two laser fluorimeters were installed at AMD, Tata Nagar and Health Physics Unit of RAPP, Kota, respectively. At IGCAR, a new laser heating method was found to be useful in causing localised de-sensitisation of austenitic stainless steels.

Cryogenics R&D work in cryogenics is mainly conducted at CAT and VECC. At CAT, the development work on a three stage closed cycle cryocooler, capable of producing a lowest temperature of 6.5 Kelvin, progressed. Two cryocoolers — a two-stage and a single-stage cryocoolers, producing lowest temperatures of 10 Kelvin and 30 Kelvin respectively, were undergoing testing. VECC fabricated and set up a portable helium extraction system at Bhabanipur (West Bengal) where large scale helium escape was noticed. Efforts were directed to enhance the scale of separation.

Pulse Power Research The KALI-5000 pulse power system, being developed at Trombay, reached an advanced stage of assembly. The pulsed electron beam produced from the facility will be used for applications in high power microwave generation, pulsed intense neutron source etc..

Supercomputer BARC's ANUPAM Super computer commissioned at the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, Delhi, resulted in considerable savings by the NCMRW. Another supercomputer consisting of eight Pentium-III nodes, developed at BARC, reached a sustained speed of 2 giga flops (floating points per second). To meet the increasing computing needs, work on setting up a centralised computing facility continued.

Robotics Design, construction and development of a Remotely Operated Power MANipulator (ROPMAN) with six degrees of freedom, along with a gripper, was completed for hot cell applications at IGCAR. The servomotor controlled motion of the ROPMAN facilitates its upgradation to a full-fledged robotic arm.

Materials In the field of Material Sciences, efforts of BARC were focused on upgradation of technology for production of uranium compounds, rare earths, nuclear grade thorium, and setting up of a Lithium Metal Pilot Plant and Advanced Material Processing Centre. Technology demonstration of fabrication of low temperature niobium-titanium multifilament superconducting cables was taken up. Heat shrinkable shape memory alloy sleeves were also developed for supply to the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Project. At Kalpakkam, for production of enriched Boron-10, the Isotope Separation Plant reached

1.11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

advanced stage of construction. The commissioning of the plant will be taken up shortly. Special sensitive sensor materials were developed by IGCAR, and the experimental setup for the production of sodium, was operated successfully.

Instrumentation At BARC the Pipe Inspection Gauge (PIG) system developed earlier was successfully tried at the test facility of the Indian Oil Corporation, Faridabad. It was ready for field trials in Barauni- Patna pipeline. With the success of PIG, plans were drawn up for building pipe inspection gauges for larger diameter pipelines. Other notable developments in field of instrumentation included : - A portable bedside Veno Screen for periodic screening of venous circulation of patients; - Enhancement in the capability of Inductively Coupled Plasma Source - Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) developed at the Centre; - Fabrication and commissioning of a DC Arc Power Supply for emission spectroscopy work which is an import substitute; - A fatigue-creep monitoring system (FCMS) which converts the power plant transients to temperature/stress responses. India joined worldwide technical information network FAMONET (Fatigue Monitoring System Network). - Fabrication and testing of a combined ion gauge and convectron gauge control unit for the measurement of vacuum from atmosphere to 10 Torr; - Process for preparing borosilicate glass having coefficient of expansion matching to Kovar metal; -The indigenously designed and fabricated Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer for photochemical investigations of atmospherically important molecules; - A new pocket dosimeter (DIGIDOSE) with selectable integrated dose alarm levels, and - A Soft-X-ray Reflectometer was designed for measuring the reflectivity of multilayer coatings.

The technology contributions from BARC to the reactor units at Kaiga and Rawatbhatta covered a number of computerised control and instrumentation systems for plant protection, control of processes and operator support. The SCADA system developed at Trombay attracted agencies for technology transfer. A compact single wire arc-plasma spray torch was developed at Trombay and used to spray coat copper and stainless steel wires. A number of such systems were developed for neutron tomography, two phase flow visualization, void fraction measurement and others. The techniques | developed at BARC was used for applications such as CCD based gamma tomography, X-ray i diffraction imaging and medical imaging. At Kalpakkam, an argon atmosphere glove box assembly was commissioned for carrying out various measurements on radioactive and air sensitive compounds. A Temperature Monitoring System for FBTR reactor vessel was successfully developed. A low field SQUID magnetometer was also assembled and tested successfully. This paved the way for the development of systems for SQUID applications in materials technology including NDT. A process for producing electro-catalytic coatings on titanium meant for nitric acid application was developed and a patent was filed.

1.12 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Seismology The seismic monitoring and data processing facilities of B ARC located at Mumbai, Gauribidanur and Delhi continued to function satisfactorily. With the commissioning of five digitally communicating stations at the Seismic Array, Gauribidanur, the Data Acquisition and Processing Facili- ties got upgraded. Two wide band systems were also commissioned at Gauribidanur and Delhi. The seismograms generated at various distances by the Indian explosions at Pokhran in 1998, were analysed which gave the yield in the range 52-63 kT. This agreed well with the announced yield and the post-shot radiochemical yield.

National Security Following the successful nuclear tests in May 1998 at Pokharan, implementation of the programme to meet the national policy of credible minimum nuclear deterrence in terms of necessary research and development as well as manufacture, is being pursued.

Nuclear Agriculture & Biosciences BARC's activities in the area of nuclear agriculture remained focused on developing improved crop varieties, use of radiotracers in the study of fertilizers and behaviour of agrochemicals in the environment, and use of radiations in the control of insect pests. The groundnut variety TAG-24 was included in 'Package of Practices' for summer cultivation for Rajasthan by the Rajasthan Agricultural University, Udaipur. Nineteen new groundnut cultures were in different stages of evaluation in the coordinated trials of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The ongoing studies in nuclear agriculture related to field trials for standardising a protocol for the trapping of red palm Weevil by using its pheromone; experiments using sterile insect technique (SIT) on diamond backmoth, and bioremediation technology for the treatment of radionuclide, heavy metal and organic waste. At Trombay, a simple method was developed for the bulk purification of horse radish peroxidase. This enzyme has a number of applications in industry and diagnostics. B ARC also provided more than 1200 tissue cultured plants to seven research stations/universities. Several insect pheromones, pharmaceutical intermediates and ligands for actinide extraction were synthesised. A synthesised pheromone for the control of sweet potato Weevil pests, and an insect growth regulator formulation developed at Trombay were found to be very effective in all India trials. A cheaper and highly efficient pheromone dispenser was also developed at BARC. The farmer-friendly nuclear research resulted in the trace element finger print pattern technique for determination of macro and micro nutrients present in different soils, and estimation of trace level of arsenic in ground water using proton-induced-X-ray emission. The BARC has established linkages with agricultural universities for extension of the research efforts. The rDNA from groundnut was cloned to detect polymorphism and develop fingerprints for Trombay groundnut varieties. Four blackgram varieties (urid) developed at Trombay and two national check varieties were analysed for developing DNA fingerprints. Yield trial of Trombay mustard cultures at Nagpur Agricultural College showed TM-1 to be superior to the check variety in seed yield. Seventy five quintals of breeder seed of four Trombay groundnut varieties worth Rs.2.85 lakh

1.13 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

was produced by BARC under contract farming at Kolhapur. The in vitro methodology for clonal propagation of pineapple and grapes, reached the stage of field evaluation, after its standardisation. Biotechnological applications covered micropropagation of economically important crops and production of bioactive compounds using plant cell culture and enzyme and microbial technology. BARC transferred several technologies which included release of genetically improved crop varieties, transfer of protocols for large scale multiplication of tissue culture raised banana, transfer of bio-reactor technology for large scale production of plant biomass and transfer of biopesticide development technology. For the World Bank aided Projects at Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, Maharashtra, a model watershed was developed by BARC. The system was found to be effective in soil and water conservation.

Food Technology In the field of Food Technology, the research and development work related to preservation of food by gamma radiation as well as by the conventional and emerging methods. The Commercial Demonstration Plant for Radiation Processing of Spices set up at Vashi, Navi Mumbai by BRIT, became operational and regular processing of spices in this plant commenced. The plant is designed for a maximum capacity of 1000 kilocuries of cobalt-60 source. To demonstrate the feasibility of increasing the shelf life of potatoes and onions on commercial scale, the construction of POTON Irradiator at Lasalgaon near Nashik (Maharashtra) made further progress. At Trombay, the Food Package Irradiator and other experimental facilities for irradiation were used for irradiation of food and experimental samples. Various fruits and vegetables were studied for their amenability to preservation and hygienization by gamma radiation. Storage studies on fish and ready-to-eat meat kababs established the effectiveness of radiation processing in enhancing their shelf-life. A nondestructive method for sorting of mangoes infested with stone weevil and spongy tissue; increase in the utilization efficiency of wheat straw for mushroom cultivation, and isolation of a new antioxidant from Jawala fish, were other developments. Radiation processing of potato, onion and mango was carried out by BARC for a firm in Mumbai. The patent applied by Centre for the process of isolation of a polysaccharide — a good immuno-modulator—from the Indian medicinal plant, Tinospora cordifolia, was accepted.

Desalination of Water BARC has developed various processes for desalination plants. Based on these processes, the Centre has developed desalination plants for rural areas, ship-borne plants, and for other uses. To demonstrate the feasibility, safety and economic viability of coupling nuclear reactor for desalination of sea water, BARC has been setting up a 6300 cubic metre/day capacity Desalination Plant at Kalpakkam. The construction of this plant progressed during the year of report.

Basic & Applied Research DAE research centres have also been engaged in basic and applied research in frontier areas of sciences. Basic research is also carried out in nuclear energy and basic sciences at seven national

1.14 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

institutes under the aegis of DAE. BARC has been setting up world-class astronomical facilities under the Gamma Ray Astro- physics Coordinated Experiments (GRACE) Project at Gurushikhar Mt. Abu. (Rajasthan). As part of phase-II of the Project, design and development of telescope facilities MACE, MYSTIQUE and BEST made progress. The major efforts of B5 ARC studies at Trombay focused on the physics problems of design, safety and operation of nuclear reactors. Research and development covered activities in allied areas of reactor theory, neutron transport theory, applied mathematics and numerical methods. A code was developed at BARC for Evaluation of Magnetic Dipole and Electric Quadrapole Interaction Constants in the analysis and Simulation of Atomic Hyperfine Structure. As a spin-off of developing charge-coupled-device (CCD) based X-ray diffraction imaging systems, a prototype x-ray imaging system suited for medical diagnostic purpose was designed at the Centre. Test runs on the system gave quality images suitable for medical diagnostics. A three dimensional neutron tomography technique using CCD based detectors was also developed at Trombay. A 40 kV/ 280 kJ, capacitor bank consisting of 48 energy storage capacitors was used for experimental studies on matter at high energy densities. Two plasma focus devices — one for high neutron yield and another a small neutron source, and a vacuum spark plasma device based on the concept of passive triggering was also developed.

The studies conducted at VECC related to the isovector response for finite nuclei; understanding the temperature dependence of observables; formulation concerning asymptotic expansion of the Fokker-Planck equation; neutron multiplicities and mean kinetic energies of the evaporated neutrons, variance of the total kinetic energies of the fission fragments. Calculation of low-lying excitation spectra of "Be and 19O; description of nuclear fission dynamics at high excitation energies; the effect of dissipation and noise on the domain formation; formation and evolution of disoriented chiral condensates, and Propagation of heavy quarks in equilibrating quark gluon plasma were some other major investigations made at VECC. Also, studies made covered radiation of single photons from relativistic heavy ion collisions; High spin states of odd-odd 142Pm and odd- A 143Pm, and Decay mechanism of light hot composite nuclei produced by heavy ion collision. VECC pursued R&D activities on high temperature cuperate superconductors based on YBaCuO and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O systems. Radiation Damage Studies of Nuclear Structural Materi- als like Zircaloy, Zr-2.5%Nb, Zirlo and SS-316 with charged particles from cyclotron were undertaken with the purpose of simulation of reactor damage.

PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS DAE has under its aegis four public sector undertakings namely the Nuclear Power Corpora- tion of India (NPCIL), Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL), Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IRE) and Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL). Activities of NPCIL have already been covered under nuclear power generation. Following are the major activities of the remaining Public Sector Undertakings:

Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL) During the year 1998-99, improved efficiency in all fields of operations of UCIL resulted in higher production of uranium concentrate and rise in net income of the company.

1.15 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Narwapahar mine became fully operational with modern mining equipment and technology, the expanded Jaduguda Mill with high levels of instrumentation and automation was commissioned, and the works of deepening of Jaduguda and Bhatin mines progressed. High safety standards were maintained in the units of UCIL and implementation of its ecology and environmental protection programme continued. A medical survey conducted by a team of doctors and radiation experts in the villages around Jaduguda, could not find any linkage of disease pattern with the operations of the UCIL.

Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IRE) The Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IRE) has been engaged in mining and production of beach sand minerals and rare earths compounds. During the year 1998-99 IRE's performance was impressive. It registered an all-time-high turnover of Rs.178 crore, earned foreign exchange of Rs. 61.84 crore and received Capexil's Export Award. It bagged an order of USD 2.33 million from Egypt, for setting up a mini-pilot plant for monazite processing. The company expects to achieve sales turnover of Rs. 200 crore during 1999-2000 with export touching Rs.70 crore. Efforts of IRE continued to improve production at Chavara which was affected by the non- availability of raw sand. It completed Microzir project for production of fine zircon powder and obtained ISO-9002 certificate for its Manavakuruchi Unit. At Manavakuruchi unit, collection of raw sand from beach washing has restarted. OSCOM, in spite of a shut down of its plant due to cyclone, attained a production of 80% of its installed capacity. For setting up a Synthetic Rutile Plant at OSCOM, IRE signed a joint venture with an Austra- lian company.

Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL) During the year 1998-99 the production of the ECIL was about 238 crore and the gross income was about Rs. 251 crore and it booked orders worth Rs.198 crore. The company introduced a number of new products needed by the thermal power plants, space, defence, and crucial sectors. The export from the company included X-ray generators, notch indicators, gyros and synchros. For the year 1999-2000 , the corporation has drawn up a sales plan of Rs. 440 crore.

Promotion of Research & Development DAE through its Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), promotes research and development activities in Indian universities and other institutions of higher learning for the growth of nuclear and allied sciences. BRNS also sponsors conferences, symposia, workshops and seminars on topics of relevance to DAE programmes. During the period of report, BRNS offered Dr. K.S. Krishnan Research Associateship (5nos.) and initiated a Visiting Scientist Scheme for university scientists. The Board also approved financial assistance for 83 new projects including conducting a coordinated study on thermal ecology (8nos.), renewed 128 ongoing projects and supported 70 symposia/conferences. As a part of DAE-University Collaboration BRNS approved setting up a Centre for Formal Design and Verification of Software at IIT-Bombay, a National Centre for Fast Reaction Kinetics at the University of Pune, and a LOCA Environment simulation and Aging Test Facility for large components.

1.16 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

University Interaction Under the Inter-University Consortium for DAE Facilities (IUC-DAEF), the research facilities at DAE's research centres were regularly utilised by universities/institutes for research & training. Practical training/ project work for BTech/ MSc/ MTech students of Indian Universities were also coordinated by BARC. The Centre continued its assistance in strengthening MSc (Radiation Physics) course at the Mangalore University, and in setting up Electron Beam Centre at SAMEER.

International Research Collaborations Research centres of DAE such as BARC, CAT, VECC have been engaged in International Research Collaborations. BARC continued participating in the international collaborative research project on Micro- nuclei in Human Populations, and in the development of CMS detector & detector frames for PHENIX. The Centre took up follow up actions for various projects under Indo-German and other schemes. VECC has been collaborating in the International Research Projects namely WA98 experiment at CERN SPS accelerator in Geneva (Switzerland) and ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Colliders (LHC). The Centre analysed the data of the WA98 experiment. For the consideration of the LHC Experiments Committee, VECC submitted a design report relating to Photon Multiply- ing Detector (PMD) which will be a special type of gas detector based on honeycomb proportional chambers.

Technology Transfer & Collaborative Programmes The DAE organisations have been contributing to augmenting scientific capability of the nation through their linkages with academic institutions and national laboratories. Some new initiatives in this regard included BARC's Collaboration with Agricultural Univer- sities in Maharashtra and Large Scale Component Test Work continuing at institutions such as the Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai. Taking shape at IIT-Bombay is the BARC's joint activity on thermal hydraulics studies related to Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR). The technologies transferred by BARC included Foldable Solar Dryer, Lascan Dia Gauge, Triode Sputter Ion Pumps, TLD Reader, Mini-Micro Stepping Control Drive, ANUDAQ-20, sputter ion pumps and 100 MSPS Transient Digitiser. A local company was accredited to provide Per- sonnel Monitoring Services to radiation workers in India.

The technology for the sodium level sensors developed in-house at IGCAR was also transferred to industry. Various hi-tech products such as X-Ray Proportional Counter, Anugami PC interface Card, Virtual Reality Software, Titanium anodes duly plated with enriched uranium, Boron Carbide, Gamma Scanning Equipment, Machined Uranium Pellets, Fuel Tube head, Lithium Carbonate and Hexamethyl Propylene Oxime (HMPAO) were supplied to Indian parties/companies. A number of MoUs signed by BARC included Process Design Consultancy and Technical Backup for setting-up of large sized Thermal Desalination Plant; Supply, installation & commissioning of Fluorine Purification System; Use of radiation and radioisotopes in agriculture; Tech- nology for diamond polishing scaives; Setting up of National Single Crystal X-Ray Diffraction Facility; Development of indigenous technology for manufacture of irradiation Cross Linked Cables and heat shrinkable accessories; and Acoustic and RF Technology, and Development &

1.17 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

modification of Solvent Extraction process for refining of ammonium diuranate. Items exported by BARC included thoria buttons (USA), TLD cards & cassettes and TLD Personnel Monitoring System (Saudi Arabia) and TLD ATE Software (Hongkong).

Technical Services: Consultancy services in the field of Stress Analysis, Failure Analysis, Gamma Scanning, Welding, Powders Classification, Vibration Diagnostics, Radio Isotope applications were provided by BARC. Apart from meeting the captive needs, the Centre provided analytical service support to organisations, hospitals and academic institutions. As a part of life extension programme, methodologies for evaluation of structural integrity of tail rotor blades of helicopters were developed and standardised .

Support to Research & Development For promotion of research in the frontier areas of nuclear science, mathematics and cancer, DAE provides grants-in-aid to seven institutes of national eminence. For the year 1999-2000, grants provided by the Department were as follows : Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Rs.85.95 crore), Tata Memorial Centre (Rs.68.50 crore), Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (Rs. 28crore), Institute of Physics (Rs. 6.4crore), Institute of Mathematical Sciences (Rs.5.55 crore), Mehta Research Institute (Rs. 5.43crore), and Institute for Plasma Research (Rs. 30.80crore). The Giant Metre-wave Radio-Telescope (GMRT) set up by the TIFR near Pune, Maharashtra, and the Laboratory for Computational Mathematics, also set up at Pune by TIFR in collaboration with BARC, became operational. The objective of the laboratory is to develop symbolic and numerical computation paradigm. TIFR's National Centre for Biological Sciences at Bangalore moved to its new "building. The Tata Memorial Centre, which is engaged in the field of comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for cancers and allied diseases, cancer research, patient care services, and professional education and training, has been setting up a new Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) at Navi Mumbai. During the year of report, work on ACTREC progressed. Also, TMC renovated its patient wards and procured medical equipment of the state-of-the-art technology. The Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) is engaged in teaching of higher learning and research in nuclear and biophysical sciences. SINP's programmes of setting up a National Facility for High Current Isotope Separation and Ion Implantation, and Multi-element Gamma, Heavy-Ion and Neutron Array Detectors (Meghnad) continued. Work on setting up a Radioactive Ion Beam Facility, another major project of SINP, also made progress. The Institute of Physics (IOP) remained engages in setting up a laboratory for producing atomic clusters and cluster assembled materials which could guide future technology. The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc) fosters fundamental research in frontier areas of mathematical sciences. IMSc continued with the research in physics, mathematics and theoretical computer science. The Mehta Research Institute for Mathematics & Mathematical Physics (MRI), remained actively involved with its teaching and research programmes and other allied activities. The major activities of the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR) focused on the development of tokamak reactor concept, fusion related technologies, theoretical and experimental work relating

1.18 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

to fundamental plasma physics, and plasma technologies for industrial applications. The Institute has been working on the development of Steady State Super Conducting Tokamak-1 (SST-1). For improving cancer control measures in the country, the Department provides financial assistance to some of the leading cancer centres in the country. The Department approved six new research projects for the Cancer Institute, Adyar, Chennai. The Department also provided grant-in-aid of Rs.7.75 crore to the Atomic Energy Education Society which manages the atomic energy schools at various sites for the education of children of employees of the DAE organisations.

International Relations India, a designated member of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since inception of the Agency, continued to offer training facilities, fellowships, scientific visits etc. to countries, through IAEA or under bilateral agreements. It also made available services of its scientists for expert assignments in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy. Over 470 scientists/engineers participated in international symposia, workshops and conferences. Under IAEA fellowship-programmes and bilateral agreements, 58 foreign scientists were trained. India also hosted 16 IAEA meetings/symposia and 10 other international meetings during 1999-2000. Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) led the Indian delegation to the Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference held in Vienna, Austria during September 1999. Bilateral discussions were held with a number of other delegations participating in the Conference. An agreement between the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and the Nuclear Installa- tion Safety Directorate (DSIN) of French Republic for the exchange of information and cooperation in the regulation of Nuclear Safety, was signed.

Public Awareness and Welfare DAE and its organisations continued their endeavour in disseminating awareness on the peaceful applications of atomic energy and India's progress in this field. Media, educational domain and public at large were the main focus of these efforts which included information literature, exhibitions, multimedia presentations, seminars and symposia. Quiz /essay competitions, and lectures were the other efforts made. Welfare programmes covering health care, education, community service and others, continued for the benefit of people. Major DAE organisations launched their Web-Sites with a view to make information readily available to public. The Indian RCA National Home Page was also put on Web by BARC.

Human Resources Development For developing managerial skill among senior officers sharing substantial administrative responsibility, BARC continued to coordinate and organise Management Development Courses. During the period of report, 156 trainee scientific officers of the Orientation Course for Engineer- ing Graduates and Science Post-Graduates (OCES) and Orientation Course for Engineering Post-Graduates (OCEP) graduated and absorbed in different DAE organisations. About 1400 students completed training/ project work. Training facilities were provided to 24 IAEA fellows. A new scheme commenced in collaboration with IIT-Kanpur. The scheme offers regular appointment in DAE to those candidates who will be completing MTech in nuclear engineering & tech-

1.19 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

nology at IIT- Kanpur. Homi Bhabha Young Scientist Award Scheme, instituted earlier by B ARC to motivate excellence in research, continued. NPCIL has also introduced award schemes for technical excellence and meritorious service, and "NPCIL Millennium Award Scheme".

Employees' Welfare Under the Central Health Service Scheme (CHSS), which covers over 72,000 beneficiaries, over 4.80 lakh patients were treated, while the Audiology and Speech Therapy Unit extended treatment to 3800 patients. As a part of social service activity, assistance was provided to about 12,000 patients. The morbidity patterns of the prime population were compiled under WHO codes for determining prevalence rates of various ailments.

1.20 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

BHABHA The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre's research and development efforts are concentrated towards fulfilling its mandate of indigenous nuclear power ATOMIC programme and other peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The technology to design, build and operate nuclear power reactors has been mastered and a blue RESEARCH print is being made ready for the development of next generation of nuclear reactors for exploiting vast reserves of thorium. Considerable self reliance has CENTRE been achieved in the field of nuclear materials which go into the making of a reactor and fuels which run it. An indigenous capability has been built over the years to reprocess the spent fuel and recycle the valuable fertile and fissile material and to manage the nuclear wastes by isolating it from environment to minimise the risks for future generations. BARC has contributed significantly by supplying radioisotopes, which find extensive use in the fields of agriculture, medicine and industries. Ensuring health and safety of personnel against radiation and protection of environment has been the primary concern in all its endeavors. The Centre also aims to provide R&D support for Nuclear power generation programme. The Research Centre is executing many programmes in the IX Plan to meet the short term / long term goals in the fields of Reactors, Reprocessing & Waste Management, Nuclear Materials, Nuclear Fuels, Health &Safety, Bio-Sciences, Radioisotope Applications, Chemical & Physical Sciences and Desalination. Enhancement of existing infrastruc- tures becomes essential to successfully implement the aforesaid programmes. Strong linkages exist among all the cited programmes. Suitable mechanisms and strategies were adopted to monitor progress and achieve high performance in meeting physical and financial targets utilising available resources. Project reviews have been undertaken at various levels as project monitoring activity on a continuous basis as part of Manage- ment services. The highlights of some of the major activities, initiatives and achievements made during this year are enumerated as follows:

The storage vault of Solid Storage Reactor Programme Surveillance Facility, Tarapur designed Development of Reactor technology is at the core of comprehensive R&D and constructed indigenously. program being pursued in BARC. All other programmes are linked with reactor The Facility which has become programme overtly or covertly. BARC reactor program is mainly geared operational, is a major achievement towards R&D support to operating / under construction nuclear power plants, to meet the growing demand of radioisotopes for use in agriculture, medicines and industries, to provide facilities for basic and applied research, development of Advanced Heavy Water Reactor and Light Water Reactor technologies. 2. 1 Research Reactors 10 MWt Multi Purpose pool type tained and monitored in the preserved Research reactors DHRUVA and Research Reactor whose basic design state. APSARA are operating well. The has been recently worked out . The refurbishing of CIRUS Research detailed design of Process systems, DHRUVA Reactor is in full swing to extend the Core components and Control & The reactor completed 14 years of useful life of the reactor and a desali- Instrumentation systems is in an successful operation and was operated nation plant is also planned to be advanced stage of completion. The at near rated power level. Dhruva con- coupled with this reactor. These reac- Project Design Safety Committee continues to be the major facility for tors provide facilities for basic and stituted by AERB has completed radioisotope production and serves as applied research, irradiation testing of design safety review of the proposal. a national facility for neutron beam , fuels & materials, production of radio- research programmes. During the year, isotopes and training of scientific and CIRUS about 850 samples were irradiated for technical staff. The complete core of the reactor radioisotope production. A number of remains unloaded to facilitate refur- research scholars from various aca- APSARA bishing activities and various safety demic institutions utilised the facility The reactor completed 43 years of and process systems are being main- under DAE-IUC programme. successful operation and continues to be used in several research applications which include, neutron activation Research Reactor DHRUVA at Trombay analysis; environmental, biological and geological studies; trace element char- acteristic studies; radiation damage studies and neutron detector testing. Over 500 samples were irradiated during the year for research & radioisotope production. Neutron radiography facility was used for testing of nuclear fuel assemblies and some real time applications. Preparations have been completed for starting the experiments for testing of bulk shielding assembly models proposed to be used in the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor. These included installation of a especially designed aluminium box in the pool between the core and the shielding corner cave in order to provide the. required incident thermal neutron flux on the flux converter assemblies and engineering modifications to the shield trolley and converter assembly trolley. Reactivity worth measurements of Burnable Poison Rod (BPR) assembly consisting of Gadolinium Aluminate as neutron absorber are also being carried out in Apsara. Work related to planned core conversion and refurbishment of Apsara is in progress. The conversion aims to provide a demonstration of the design concept and technological features of

2.2 Two dedicated Diesel Generator sets of 125 kVA each were commissioned for further improving the reliability of power supply to the overhead storage tank make-up pump units. The overhead storage tank supplies gravity assisted power water flow to the tur- bines coupled to the shutdown cooling pumps of the reactor. A pneumatic carrier rod assembly was installed in pile after necessary piping modifications. A relay based new control console was designed, fabricated and commissioned for the Pneumatic Carrier Facility. Shooting of empty and weighted capsules was carried out successfully during reactor shutdown. This facility will now be put to regular use for short-term irradiation of materials. Event based Emergency Operating Procedures to cater to several postulated off-normal conditions were developed for use by operating staff. A document for In-service Inspection program for Dhruva was also prepared. Relining of 100 M3 capacity Main Outside Sump with Stainless Steel- 316L plates was completed as the earlier lining had developed defects. Preparatory work and installation trials were carried out towards commissioning of the controlled temperature irradiation facility at one of the beam holes. Activities related to the design and Advanced Heavy Water Reactor construction of a new Critical Facility Advanced Heavy Water Reactor for carrying out Reactor Physics experiments for Advanced Heavy tion systems and other auxiliary sys- desalination unit based on Low Tem- Water Reactor and 500MWe Pressur- tems like air conditioning and ventila- perature Vacuum Evaporation Process ized Heavy Water Reactors is progress- tion, Power supply and distribution, with CIRUS reactor is in progress. ing well. With due considerations to Compressed air system etc. are in Engineering feasibility study of a the requirements of the experimenters, advanced stages of completion. Pro- 12 pin fuel cluster for the proposed the basic design features of the Criti- curement of various equipment/com- New High Flux Research Reactor was cal Facility were finalized. Core phys- ponents/materials is in progress. carried out and engineering design was ics and shielding design, geo-techni- Detailed safety analysis report of the also evolved. A conceptual design of cal investigation of the site and build- Critical Facility has been prepared and a fast neutron irradiation facility was ing layout drawings were finalized. will shortly be submitted to Atomic also developed. Detailed engineering design of the Energy Regulatory Board for review Quality Assurance (QA) progr- Reactor block, Core components, Pro- and approval. amme was augmented towards cess systems, Control & Instrumenta- Work related to integration of a enhanced safety in operation & main-;

2.3 tenance activities for the research cifically for purpose of studying the such conditions and also enable tests reactors. As part of this program phenomena and its stability in AHWR on relevant recovery methods and internal regulatory inspections for the has provided experimental validation operational procedures. three research reactors have been of models in this area. The physics This year has also seen major gains introduced. and thermal hydraulics design of in terms of data generation on fatigue As part of on-going PSA studies for AHWR has been further optimised. and fracture behaviour of primary sys- Dhruva reactor, reliability analysis of Design of various other engineering tems piping as a part of our effort to Shut-off rod system and containment systems and procurement/fabrication realise leak before break capability in isolation and emergency exhaust sys- of components of these systems are in Primary Heat Transport System of 500 tem was completed. progress. Flow sheet and specifications MWe PHWR. Over 20,000 samples of light for major equipment and piping Development of catalytic reco- water, heavy water, helium gas and ion layout of integral test facility are mbiners, a system meant for mitigat- exchange resins were analysed during nearing completion. Spacer design ing the hydrogen related risks in an the year. Technical and analytical optimisation for fuel assembly devel- accident situation has also reached an services, e.g. for analysis of silica gel, opment and commissioning of test advanced stage. Different techniques lithium hydroxide etc., carrying out facility for separate effects test have for physical/chemical deposition of analytical work at Kaiga-2 project site made significant progress. Design of catalyst on substrates have been tried during first criticality, analysis of heavy fuelling machine head and carriage is out with very encouraging results. water samples for uranium content, in progress. In support of operating power sta- preparation and supply of heavy The design work of various systems tions, recently the vibration diagnos- water standard to Nuclear Power for setting up a Critical Facility to con- tic technique was tried out with a larger Stations, evaluation of hot condition- duct reactor physics experiments of shaker enabling further improvements. ing of PHT systems of Kaiga-2 & various fuel configurations of AHWR The improved INGRESS with its RAPP-3, decontamination of modera- has made good progress. delivery system, which can carry out tor systems of NAPS-2 etc. were pro- The important landmarks in the garter spring relocation in wet chan- vided to NPCIL, as required. development of Pressurised Heavy nels of PHWRs as well as improved A computational model for the cal- Water Reactor systems this year scrape sampling tool, is in an advanced culation of reactivity worth of shut-off include commissioning of the first stage of testing. Fifth campaign of rods in Cirus and Dhruva was devel- phase of the Facility for Integral Sys- decontamination using BARC developed tem Behaviour Experiments (FISBE). oped process was successfully carried This facility permits experimental out recently at Kalpakkam. Reactor Engineering simulation of accident scenarios and Development of advanced inspec- The design and engineering devel- operational transients in Pressurised tion and diagnostic tools and tech- opment of Advanced Heavy Water Heavy Water Reactors, thereby niques for assessing structural integ- Reactor (AHWR) is progressing well. improving our understanding of the rity of critical components of NPPs is The natural circulation loop set up spe- physical phenomena that occur under an ongoing activity of the centre. Design of equipment and instru- Leak Before Break Testing of PHT system piping ofPHWR mentation towards augmenting test facility for accident scenarios & operational transients is in progress. The fabrication of 19 rod FRS for phase-I test is going on. Design and development of containment model, PHT model, process and special instruments (like H2 monitors, blowdown flow monitors and aerosol monitors) has made good progress. Experimen- tal studies at various nuclear facilities for corrosion and mechanical properties are in progress. An endurance test in the investiga- As a part of seismic re-evaluation of CIRUS containment, the dynamic analysis of the 3D model of the superstructure of the CIRUS containment is completed. A design check has been carried out for the embedded parts of the radiation shielding doors of "New hot cell facility for PIE of Nuclear fuels and reactor components" subjected to horizontal and vertical earthquake loads. The embedded parts as well as the hinge plates are found to be safe for the dead load and earthquake load. A design basis transient analysis for sizing of the Over Pressure Relief system of Primary Heat Transport (PHT) system of 500 MWe PHWR power plant was carried out. The analysis was done using the process dynamics code DINA500 developed in-house. The system dynamics code DINA220 developed to study the operational transients of a 220 MWe PHWR power plant was used to study Vibration Diagnostic Technique for Cooling Channels of PHWR the different mitigation schemes for avoiding low-pressure during tran- tion study of wear in the inner spacers industries dealing with the develop- sients in a 220 MWe PHWR system. of upstream bundle is very important. ment of fatigue monitoring systems for For the multidivisional project on Vibration measurements of 500 MWe integrity assessment and maintenance Nuclear Aerosol Test Facility (NATF), fuel and in-channel components were of power plant components. civil construction of the building has carried out in a specially engineered been completed. The test vessel has experimental setup in Hall-7. The flow Reactor Safety been erected. The Code HYRECAT induced vibration of fuel bundle, fuel Under safety related technology has been augmented for box type locator and liner tube under simulated development, work continued for recombiners with convective gas flow reactor condition was measured by Augmentation of Facility for Accident model. remote Electro-optical and laser Scenarios and Operational Transients. Finite Element Analysis was done Vibrometer through specially designed An experimental set-up was installed for international benchmark exercise optical windows. to determine the safe distance from the "Determination of the ultimate load A fatigue-creep monitoring system electrical live (up to 25 kV) parts for capacity of Pre-stressed Concrete Con- (FCMS) has been developed which the purpose of fire fighting. The tainment Vessel (PCCV.) test model converts the power plant transients to experiment for safe current as per (1:4 size of a Japanese PWR contain- temperature/stress responses using Bureau of Indian Standard has been ment) sponsored by USNRC and finite element method (FEM) and completed. A number of tasks con- NLTPEC" The analysis was completed transfer function approach. India is a nected with Containment Studies Test with in-house finite element code member of the recently established Facility (CSTF) instrumentation were ULCA. It was demonstrated that worldwide technical information completed. A detailed methodology, PCCV test model would fail by bulg- network FAMONET (FAtigue for using Kaiga Simulator for collec- ing in the membrane region due to MOnitoring system NETwork) to tion of data on operator performance, through thickness cracking of cylindri- facilitate the exchange of information under post-event conditions in simu- cal wall that is followed by the steel between research organisations and lated scenarios, was worked out. liner tearing at a pressure 2.36 times

2.5 the design pressure. For life extension significant developments for the fuel 12 Hours & 24 Hours. Grain size mea- of Heavy Water Plant Kota, seismic for Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor sured was in the range of 24.7 to 33.9 re-evaluation of process tanks, dump (PFBR). microns which is the average of mea- tanks and their supporting structures Laser material processing facility surement on 64 fields. have been completed. LOCA Analy- has been equipped with laser machines Nuclear Fuel Development sis for the ECC header break for and is being used for surface engineer- Programme envisages Construction of AHWR. Reliability analysis of multi- ing studies and feasibility study of dis- shielded hot cell facility, revamping pin connector from TAPS has been car- mantling of fuel bundles and under and augmentation of fuel fabrication ried out under combined environment water cutting applications. facilities, development of Prototype of accelerated temperature, humidity Augmentation of Uranium metal Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) fuel, and radiation in the synergism simula- production by adding new equipment development of process for plutonium tor facility. Guidelines for reliability and mechanising operations is in based fuels and their characterisation, assessment/long-term performance advanced stages of completion. augmentation of MOX fuel fabrica- evaluation of cables, elastomers, pro- During the fabrication of MOX fuel tion facility at Tarapur, development cess instruments, electronic/electrical rods for Boiling Water Reactors at of telerobots, telemanipulators and components and materials have been AFFF of BARC at Tarapur, Gamma- high speed rotor. prepared and distributed to the vari- auto-radiography was successfully ous units of DAE. used to evaluate composition of MOX Nuclear Recycle BARC has been participating in the pellets and to detect presence of PuO2 Fuel Reprocessing IAEA CRP on "Management of Age- agglomerates in the peripheral region. At present three reprocessing plants ing of I&C cables". Large number of Experiments were made to standard- are in operation catering to the require- cable samples received from IAEA ize the conditions for distinguishing ments of research & power reactors. have been tested and test results have fuel pellets of different composition by All the three Reprocessing Plants and been communicated to IAEA. gamma-auto-radiography of fuel pins a number of other plants are operating Investigations were carried out into loaded with pellets of different com- well. To meet the reprocessing demand various HRA methodologies with position. of the spent fuel arising from Kaiga, focus on the application of expert As a part of mixed carbide fuel Narora and RAPP-3&4, reprocessing estimation methods in HRA of Indian development, samples of appropriate plants are being set up at Tarapur & nuclear plants. A methodology was dimensions of (U08Pu02)C and Kalpakkam under New Technology developed for using the Kaiga Nuclear (Uo 45Pu0 55)C were fabricated for ther- Development programme. Power Plant Training Simulator for mal conductivity, thermal toughness, A facility for the separation of HRA. coefficient of thermal expansion and U-233 from thorium rods irradiated at An in-house 2/3-D damage carbon potential measurements. A CIRUS and Dhruva reactors mechanics code 'MADAM' has been modified fabrication route has been isexpected to be completed shortly. developed and successfully applied to developed for fabrication of fresh PREFRE Plant at Tarapur is being analyses many fracture specimens. ThO2 pellet which will remove excess revamped and the civil works for The code has been validated against sulphur present in the thoria feed pow- revamping of PREFRE-1 have com- experimental results of standard tender received from IRE. Fabrication of menced and basic design of various sile and CT specimen of two different 2 Tons of ThO2 pellets is in progress systems is nearly completed and materials. following the modified route. As part detailed design of systems is in of mixed (U-Pu)O2 fuel development progress. Nuclear Fuels for PFBR work, fuel pellets of dif- Removal of 137Cs activity from the The programme of progressive ferent compositions were fabricated spent fuel solution before it is pro- introduction of MOX fuel in reactors and characterised in terms of density, cessed for the recovery of plutonium at Tarapur is continued. KAMINI (O/M ) ratio and solid solution for- and uranium can considerably reduce reactor at Kalpakkam, a Uranium-233 mation. the radiation hazard. Laboratory scale based system designed in BARC has As part of the activities of Task studies with dissolved fuel solution continued to perform well. The mixed Force for thoria based fuels, grain have demonstrated the possibility of 137 carbide fuel in Fast Breeder Test growth studies on sintered ThO2 pel- sorption of Cs on selected inorganic Reactor (FBTR) continues to perform lets were done by heating the pellets sorbants, rendering it safer for further extremely well. The year has also seen isothermally at 1650°C for 8 Hours, processing. Specific sorbent for the

2.6 removal of l37Cs from highly alkaline highly active radioactive wastes in Work on development of radiation waste with high solid content has been glass matrix. The furnace system has shielding windows is progressing as developed. a unique design and has been indig- per plan. A few radiation shielding Uranous nitrate solution is enously designed and manufactured windows which turned cloudy and employed for the reductive stripping within the country for the first time. opaque have been successfully refur- and separation of plutonium in Purex These systems have been earlier bished. process. Laboratory studies have estab- imported for the plant at Tarapur. Sev- A pilot scale facility for alkaline lished the feasibility for its preparation eral successful trials have been taken hydrolysis treatment of waste solvent by catalytic reduction of uranyl nitrtate to prove the cell worthiness o'f the fur- TBP and a continuous calciner for solution with hydrogen gas. This nace. Apart from the provision of the HLW treatment studies are in advanced method will serve as an alternative to independent controls for the selective stages of construction. Laboratory the currently vogue electrolytic reduc- zonal heating of the furnace, new scale investigations for destruction of tion of uranyl nitrate solution which designs of the freeze valves and feed- used ion exchange resins by wet oxi- has certain limitations. Equipment for ing arrangement have been success- dation followed by photochemical oxi- a pilot plant scale unit has been fully implemented. dation have been successfully tried out. designed, fabricated and is being For the first time a new concept Design and procurement action for installed. based on Servo Manipulator technol- the disposal of beryllium waste at Studies are in progress for co-pro- ogy has been used for all incell opera- Gamma Garden site, BARC is near- cessing and recovery of uranium and tions. The complete system has been ing completion. Pilot plant scale runs plutonium together from spent ura- indigenously designed and manufac- for immobilization of beryllium waste nium fuel solution instead of their tured. in vitreous matrices have also been car- individual separation for their direct Construction of Waste Immo- ried out. use in MOX fuel fabrication, thereby bilistion Project at Trombay is reducing the number of steps involved expected to be completed by March Health, Safety and Environment in fuel fabrication. 2000 and full commissioning trials are Health Physics & Radiation Standards expected to begin thereafter. The high Environmental surveillance for Waste Management and low level liquid wastes generated radioactivity is conducted continu- A major milestone was achieved in from Plutonium plant at Trombay are ously at the various Nuclear Power the radioactive waste management going to be treated and immobilised Stations by Environmental Survey programme with the inauguration of in this plant after it becomes fully Laboratory (ESL) operated by Health country's first Solid Storage Surveil- operational. Physics Division of Bhabha Atomic lance Facility (S3F) at Tarapur. India A centralised component decon- Research Centre. The estimation of has thus become the fourth nation in tamination and conditioning facility intake of radionuclides by the popula- the world to have such a hi-tech facil- being constructed at Trombay has tion around the plant is made by mea- ity. This is an important step prior to made good progress. surements of concentrations of radio- disposal of higher level wastes in deep Construction of Waste Immo- nuclides in air, water, vegetables, geological repository. bilistion Plant at Kalpakkam to cereals, milk, meat, fish, egg etc. and Waste Management facilities are in immobilise and store in a solid form the dose to population is computed. operation for many decades at Tarapur, of high and intermediate level waste The analysis of 1998 data shows that Trombay and CWMF Kalpakkam to being generated from Kalpakkam the doses received at 1.6 kms are much handle low level wastes originating Reprocessing Plant (KARP) has made less than the limit prescribed by the from nuclear plants/labs. These facili- good progress. Atomic Energy Regulatory Board ties are being revamped to enhance the Stage-II investigations to select a (AERB). At farther distances the doses overall performance of existing facili- few candidate sites for ultimate dis- are observed to be still less. ties by replacing aged equipment and posal of high level radioactive wastes Radiological safety support func- installing latest safety features. generated from reprocessing nuclear tion to various nuclear power plants Waste Immobilisation Project, fuels is completed. Further studies to and other fuel cycle facilities was con- Trombay has achieved the distinction completely characterise the site and tinued by the Health Physics Units of successful commissioning of Vitri- rock mass with view to assess its suit- (HPUs) located at the these DAE fication furnace using induction heat- ability for a pilot repository in future facilities. This includes assessmentof ing system for immobilisation of are in progress. the radiological status of the plant*

2.7 areas, safety reviews and participation in O&M activities during normal and special operations, towards exposure control. Health physics coverage was also provided to (i) creep adjustment of 30 coolant channels in unit #1, RAPS, (ii) the repair works inside process cells of PREFRE plant at Tarapur, (iii) treatment of intermediate level waste from PREFRE plant at WIP, Tarapur, (iv) transfer of alkaline waste from waste tank farm of PREFRE to trenches in Solid Waste Management facility in Tarapur. Health physics instruments were installed and commissioned, standard procedures for operation were formulated by the HPU of WIP for the storage vault of Solid Storage Surveillance Low Level Radiation Research Laboratory, at Kollam, Kerala Facility at Tarapur. A few vitrified waste canisters have since been trans- the market was designed and fabricated provided to Pharmaceutical compa- ferred to this facility from WIP and as an import substitute for calibration nies, e.g. Mediorals, Cipla Ltd., Okasa health physics services were provided of Radiation Equipment against Radia- Ltd., and to Marine Export Develop- during this operation. tion Standards. ment Authority (for Cs-137). Samples At Kaiga and RAPP 3&4, health Hardware and software for Aerial of export and import origin were physics laboratories and facilities were Gamma monitoring are being devel- analysed for radioactivity content by set-up with requisite radiation measur- oped. Setting up site emergency con- ESL, Kalpakkam and test certificates ing instruments, sampling equipment, trol centre at Tarapur, Development of were issued. These services resulted in counting systems and data processing tritium in air monitor and connection revenue earnings of Rs. 21 lakhs dur- systems to meet the operation sched- of HP units to BARC are at various ing this year. ules. Ventilation duct radiation moni- stages of progress. Characterisation of Environmental Radiological Labo- tors, iodine activity monitors, particu- Radon / Thoron calibration facility unit ratory, Kaiga has been recognised as a late activity monitors, fission product and country wide survey programme centre for pursuing research in radia- noble gas monitors, tritium-in-air is in progress. Development of tion physics and environmental chem- monitors, heavy water loss monitors, Therapy cassettes for electron beam istry by Manglore University, area radiation monitors, shutdown area dosimetry, in-vivo dosimetry in radio- Manglore. radiation monitors and wide range therapy, plane parallel chamber for The efforts of Environmental Sur- radiation monitors have been installed. electron dosimetry was continued. vey Laboratory, Rawatbhata led RAPS A new pocket dosimeter Several polymeric materials in the to win the coveted Golden Peacock (DIGIDOSE) with selectable inte- form of thin films like radiochromic Award (for the year 1999) under large grated dose alarm levels has been dye films, clear perspex HX, and cel- scale enterprises category instituted by designed using a silicon diode as the lulose triacetate find a wide applica- the World Environment Foundation. radiation detector. Countrywide per- tion in radiation processing dosimetry. sonnel monitoring was conducted for A work was carried out in BARC to Environmental Assessment and 32,000 radiation workers from about investigate the dosimetric properties of Research 3000 industrial, medical, research and locally manufactured Garfilm-EM to Studies on indoor pollution assume DAE institutions. determine its suitability as a high dose importance since an average person A computerised machine with a dosimeter. spends more than 80% time of the day provision to manipulate the sample Analytical services for radiochemi- in the indoor environment, either in the along the 3 axes and with a positional cal analysis (Gross alpha Gross beta, home or in the office premises. A num- accuracy better than that available in Cs-137, Ra-226 and Ra-228) were ber of indoor sources such as emission

2.8 from the building material, furniture, used for dating the geological samples tralization, a theory based on the painted surfaces, smoking, releases containing feldspar. During the course columnar track recombination process through cooking are responsible for of analysis of the geopogical samples has been developed. The solutions for enhanced level of air pollutants in collected from Thar desert under a the fraction of the progeny species indoor environment. Volatile hydro- DST project, it was found that the age escaping recombination with columnar carbons such as hexane, benzene, tolu- estimates based on IRSL measure- ions has been derived as a function of ene, xylenes etc. were estimated in in- ments at elevated temperatures were track and ion parameters. The results door and outdoor air samples using consistently higher than those at room yielded an escape fraction to the cryogenic pre-concentration and a gas temperatures. There exist two possible extent of about 60% in low humidity chromatograph with a flame ionization explanation for this phenomenon, viz., atmospheres. The theory also suggests detector. The study revealed that the thermally assisted increase in the that the rapid recombination observed indoor concentration of the pollutants charge transfer giving rise to increase at high humidities are very likely to be are higher in the presence of indoor in the recombination efficiency and the due to drastically lowered ion mobili- sources. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocar- availability of additional traps at ties attributable to transient ion- bons (PAH) such as, acenaphthylene, elevated temperatures. Studies were induced clustering effects. fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, carried out in EAD to find out the A three-dimensional convective pyrene, etc., generated by indoor relevant mechanism in the present heat transport model is developed to activities like cooking, smoking etc context and optimize measurement predict the temperature distribution in were estimated in indoor and outdoor parameters. Three sets of experiments the vicinity of a thermal discharge out- air samples using high pressure liquid were conducted with feldspar using an fall located in coastal sea. The flow chromatography equipped with UV indigenously designed and fabricated velocity distributions are obtained detector. PAH concentrations were IRSL system. These experiments sup- from the governing momentum and significantly high in indoor air particu- ported the theory of increased charge continuity equations with wind stress larly where the kerosene is the domes- transfer due to local heating of the on the sea surface as the forcing func- tic fuel. sample by IR stimulation. Based on tion. The temperature distribution is Exposure assessment due to toxic these results, a revised protocol has evaluated using the energy equation. heavy metals were carried out for been proposed in which the paleodose The equations are solved numerically Mumbai adult population. Ingestion is in geolological samples is determined by assuming a temperature rise of the predominant route for metals like by first partially bleaching the samples 10° C over the ambient near the dis- Cu, Mn, As, Cr and Fe while inhala- by IR at room temperatures and then charge outfall. Gradient boundary con- tion is the significant route for Pb and recording IRSL at 70 °C . dition for temperature is applied at all Cd for Mumbai adult population. The Studies on the electrical behaviour boundaries and constant eddy daily intake of toxic metals was less of radon progeny aerosols in electric exchange coefficients are used in the than the permissible intake. However, fields have received fresh attention in simulation. The model is initialized the intake of essential metals was also view of new pathways of increased using a southwesterly wind with speed lower than the recommended levels. risks being hypothesised for popula- ranging between 3 and 6 m/s. The The intake of Mn through milk and tions exposed to AC fields from high resultant horizontal velocities range milk products for Mumbai children tension powerlines. In this context, a between 1 and 8 cm/s. The results was calculated. Estimation of exposure study was undertaken to examine the shows that the eddy diffusion process of Pb in school children of Mumbai, charged fraction, neutralization rate overrides the convection process due nutritional status studies through and electrical mobilities of radon prog- to low flow velocities. After 12 hr of determination of trace elements in eny. A new technique using a combi- thermal discharge, the affected area colostrum milk and intake of toxic nation of AC and DC fields in a modi- with at least 1°C rise in temperature, metals by anemic children were also fied scintillation cell was developed lies within 1.2 km east (offshore) and studied. 17.3% of the children tested and used to estimate these parameters. 1.4 km north. After 24 hr of discharge, had blood lead levels exceeding the A series of experiments conducted this area marginally increases upto permissible value of 15mg/dl. The lev- with this system yielded charge life- 1.7 km east and 2.3 km north. It is els of essential elements like Cu, Zn, times of 0.02s and mobilities of observed that the iso-contour of 10°C Fe in colostrum milk was 2-5 times 1.14 cmVV/s, for 218Po under high rise covers a very small area around more than those in breast milk. humidity conditions. In order to under- the outfall. IRSL based techniques are widely stand the mechanisms of charge neu- The non-homogeneous and non-

2.9 stationary nature of meteorological parameters makes the simplified models such as Gaussian plume, puff models inapplicable in realistic situations for dispersion estimates. To overcome this problem, the meteorological model ADOCT (Atmospheric Disper- sion over Complex Terrain) was developed. ADOCT is a 3-dimensional meteorological model in terrain following co-ordinate system for incom- Simuiation of fuel bundle Multiple fwo dimensional pressible fluid with hydrostatic Neutron CT images assumption and is coupled to particle trajectory mode? for impact assessment. The flow model solves the momentum equations, conservation equations for heat and specific humidity. A new methodology is also developed to estimate plume gamma dose using particle trajectory model and is an integral part of the ADOCT code. Model needs the initial profiles of wind Three Dimensional neutron CT ,4 cut away portion of 3D <"!' velocity, temperature and specific hu- showing broken rod midity as input. The complete validation of the model will be carried out in the IXth plan validation experiment, presently the model validation is carried out for a typical sea-breeze con- Two & three dimensional neutrons dition observed at Kalpakkam. The tal radiation especially due to radon 25,000 samples of work place air, stack predicted dose-rate values agreed rea- and thoron and their daughter products, emissions and ambient air were col- sonably well with the dose-rate values and radioactivity in effluents, surface lected and analysed for uranium and normally observed. & ground water & soil. Results indi- chemical constituents like Cl2, NO2, In plant and environmental surveil- cated that all parameters were well NH3,Zr02 and CO. lance for radiological and conventional within the respective regulatory lim- constituents were carried out in the its. Environmental radiation monitor- Physical Sciences front end of the nuclear fuel cycle at ing was also carried out in the coastal In order to promote radiation pro- the uranium mines and mill of UCIL villages in the naturally high back- cessing using industrial electron accel- at Jaduguda, Bhatin and Narwapahar, ground areas of Kerala, Tamilnadu as erators, 2 MeV Electron Accelerator mineral and monazite processing well as in the villages with naturally is being shifted to Vashi, Navi Mumbai plants of IREL at Udyogamandal, elevated radiation levels near and a new Electron Beam Centre hous- Chavara, Manavalakurichi and Chatrapur in Orissa. ing two industrial accelerators is OSCOM (Chhatrapur), and in differ- Concentrations of some non-radioac- being set up at Khargar in collabora- ent fuel fabrication and related plants tive pollutants specific to a Facility tion with SAMEER. of NFC, Hyderabad. such as siliceous dust and noise levels Folded Tandem Ion Accelerator, an Depending on the Facility, Moni- at UCIL, Jaduguda were also deter- indigenously designed and fabricated toring is carried out for some of the mined. The monitoring has ensured system is one of the few of its kind following to ensure compliance with that the regulatory limits are not operating accelerators in the world. the regulatory limits: radiation dosim- exceeded for any constituent. The FOTIA is in final stages of commis- etry for operating personnel, radon/ number of samples collected and sioning. FOTIA will deliver light and thoron in exhaled breath of workers, analysed varies from plant to plant. For heavy ion beams with a terminal volt- long lived alpha activity, Environmen- example, at NFC facilities about age of 6 MV to be used in basic and

2. 10 energy of 400 KeV with beam current arc plasma generator program worked of 7.5 mA. out in collaboration with the Propul- As part of phase-II of project sion group at VSSC was successfully GRACE, design and development of completed. A compact single wire arc- MACE, BEST and MYSTIQUE plasma spray torch has been developed telescope facilities are in progress and and used to spray coat copper and procurement and installation of vari- stainless steel wires. ous sub-systems of these facilities are The Linear Accelerator (LINAC) also in progress. facility was in continuous operation. Design and fabrication of mirror The facility is regularly used not only chambers and high temperature in BARC but also by some universi- absorption cell for high resolution ties such as Pune University and beam line at Indus-I and target cham- Mahatma Gandhi University. ber for Beam foil spectroscopy beam Neutron imaging finds applications line at FOTIA made good progress. in many branches of science and Optical design of the beam line for industry such as in nondestructive test- XAS Beam line at Indus-2 is coming, material science etc. Scientists at pleted. The installation of Material BARC have been working on digital characterisation setup using FT-IR imaging of neutrons for various appli- facility is nearly completed. Design of cations using Charge Coupled Device Two Beam Accelerator (TBA) and (CCD) based detectors. A number of development of pulsed neutron such systems have been' developed at sources, heavy ion beams is in BARC for applications like two and progress. Good progress has been three dimensional neutron tomogra- achieved in fabrication of Relativistic phy, two phase flow visualization and Klystron Amplifier and development void fraction measurement inside me- of non-linear computer code. tallic pipes, neutron radiography with The first phase of the constricted non reactor sources etc. The techniques Folded Tandem Ion Accelerator Constrictor Arc Plasma Generator applied research in Nuclear, Atomic and Material Science. The BARC- TIFR Pelletron Accelerator Facility, which has now completed 11 years of successful operation, has already made a large impact on the international scene by the research programme conducted at this facility. For adding a Super conducting Linac Booster to the Pelletron, 15 quarter wave resonators which are high technology items have been successfully fabricated in our Central Workshops. Work on the RF and control electronics towards realisation of Super conducting Linac Accelerators is also in progress at this Centre. Two Thermal Ionisation mass spectrometers have been built and are ready for delivery to the users. The 500 KeV Industrial Accelerator has been tested successfully upto a beam

2. 11 developed at BARC have been used One-way coupled fast and thermal fine Structure. Two UHV laser align- for applications such as CCD based subcritical, accelarator driven systems ment boxes have been designed, fab- gamma tomography, x-ray diffraction are being studied using multigroup ricated and tested to be incorporated imaging and medical imaging. tranport theoretic methods for realis- in photo physics and Photo-Electron tic geometries. Spectroscopy (PES) beam lines at Theoretical Physics The problem of engineering the INDUS-I synchrotron at Indore. The major efforts in this field are motional state of an atom in a laser A Soft-X ray Reflectometer has to study the physics problems of cooled harmonic trap by coupling its been designed for measuring the design, safety and operation of nuclear internal state to an externally applied reflectivity of multilayer coatings, to reactors. It also carries out research and electromagnetic field is being investi- be prepared by R.F. Sputtering tech- development activities in allied areas gated. This problem is of interest for nique, in the wavelength range of 30- of reactor theory, neutron transport producing the non-classical states of 100 using the laser plasma source. The theory, applied mathematics and motion. An exactly solvable many- laser plasma source is a very bright and numerical methods. In addition many body Hamiltonian has been found that continuous source of Soft X-ray and areas of physics and such as radiation relates itself to metal-insulator transi- UV radiation. It was shown it theo- hydodynamics, non-linear equations, tion in three-dimensional Anderson retically that it is possible to extract a classical and quantum chaos, and quan- model, Bose-Einstein condensation narrow wavelength band from the con- tum optics. and pseudointegrable billiards. It is tinuum using a combination of a trans- The introduction of a few MOX also the first example of a one-dimen- mission foil and grazing incidence mir- fuel bundles in TAPS reactors has sional statistical mechanical system to ror. An optical lay outof the reflecto- necessitated the development of a new support quantum phases. A theory for meter set up has also been prepared core-simulator for these reactors. The understanding dissipation in finite where it would be possible to measure new simulator based on multigroup Fermi systems, like nuclei and metal- two soft X-ray signals simultaneously, diffusion theory, as against one group lic clusters, has been developed. An viz., the original signal and the signal model of the old simulator, slightly extensive study of the nonlinear reflected from the sample and thus improves the agreement between dynamics of circuits has been done. reflectivity of the sample would be theory and TIP measurements. The Computer codes for numerical study measured at each laser pulse. A method interpretation of TIP measurements is of a class of nonlinear dynamical sys- was developed to analyse aluminium being looked into afresh. This is tems have been developed. Relations content in percentage levels in Nio- because the quarter core symmetry between the correlations between the bium Alloys using ICP-AE spectro- assumed in their location is usually Husimi zeros and the random matri- metric technique. absent in the core configurations. ces was studied. Indispensability of Reactivity worth for regulating, closed, almost periodic orbits, of po- High Pressure Physics shim and absorber rods were measured lygonal billiards for semi classical BARC is engaged in the study of during the phase-B commissioning of quantization was established. materials using static and dynamic Kaiga 1 and 2 reactors. The worths of methods. State-of-the-art static dia- primary and secondary shut down sys- Spectroscopy mond anvil cell and dynamic gas gun tems were also measured. These High resolution studies of uranium facilities are set up to study condensed experiments were analysed and there spectra has been initiated on the newly matter at ultra high pressures. First was excel lant agreement between the installed Fourier Transform Spectrom- principles theoretical methods are used experimental values and theoretical eter (FTS). As a test case, emission for the prediction and interpretation of predictions. spectrum of uranium was recorded on experimental data. High Energy Den- A program to efficiently solve the FTS. These studies would enable to sity Physics (HEDP) phenomena such neutronics equations of power reactors evaluate isotope shift and hyperfine as mega Kelvin plasmas, mega-bar is underway, in collaboration with structure in selected transitions and the shocks and mega-gauss magnetic fields computational mathematics laboratory, energy levels of uranium atom. are being studied using a multi-mega TIFR, Pune. It is found that the use of A code has been developed for ampere current source and a variety of ILU pre-conditioned, stabilised bi-con- Evaluation of Magnetic Dipole and diagnostics systems. Currents upto jugate gradient method results in time Electric Quadrapole Interaction Con- 2.3 MA have already been generated. savings by a factor of 3 for large prob- stants (A- and B-factor) in the analy- This facility is expected to serve as a lems. sis and Simulation of Atomic Hyper- test bed for experimental bench mark-

2. 12 ing of computer simulation of high C-A1PO4 (cristobalite A1PO4) and tron source The high pressure data energy density phenomena as well as Ca(OH)2 under shock compression collected at Elettra confirmed the struc- for design and demonstration of novel and to compare it with static high tural phase transition observed earlier. high energy density objects such as pressure experiments, shock recovery High pressure behaviour of berl- Z-pinch driven dynamic hohlraums. experiments were carried out on these inite A1PO4 (a-AlPO4) was The techniques for the development of materials at different pressures. reinvestigated with x-ray diffraction digital imaging of radiation are vigor- Zr and Zr-Nb20 are important using a powerful synchrotron x-ray ously pursued with an aim to utilize nuclear materials, (to understand the source SPring-8. The results show that them for basic and applied sciences. mechanism of a—»a> and [3->co transit transforms to a crystalline Cmcm This includes real time x-ray imaging formation) respectively, which phase beyond ~ 13 GPa. for studying kinetics of phase transi- requires the investigation of the nature High pressure behaviour of tions under pressure, imaging spatial of the interface between the two phases oc-cristobalite has been investigated and temporal behaviour of high den- and the derivation of their habit plane. with extensive molecular dynamics sity plasmas. The applications include Static and dynamic, compression calculations. To represent shock load- development of new technologies for experiments were carried out on Zr and ing, pressure and temperature were CCD based two phase flow visualiza- Zr-Nb20 samples. A dynamic experi- simultaneously and instantaneously tion and void fraction measurement ment on two Zr-Nb20 samples with increased to the calculated Hugoniot inside metallic pipes for nuclear power different oxygen contents was carried values appropriate for porous programme, electronic imaging tech- out at a pressure of 15.5 GPa. The cristobalite. niques for neutrons and x-rays, imag- XRD pattern of shock retrieved sample To understand the mechanism of ing techniques for portable neutron does not show any new reflection but pressure induced phase transitions in sources etc. A 400 kV neutron genera- changes in the relative intensities of cc-GeO2 at atomistic level, a classical tor based on the T(d,n) a fusion reac- various Bragg reflections were ob- molecular dynamical simulation was tion, has been installed at Purnima served. Electronic structure calcula- carried out. In these simulations, a first Laboratory. This facility will be used tions with generalized gradient order phase transition is observed at to carry out integral benchmark experi- approximation (GGA) have been car- 9 GPa, which causes a drastic reduc- ments to verify the neutron cross-sec- ried out on Fe, Zn and Nb. In order to tion in intensities of Bragg peaks in the tion data sets and to check the reliabil- confirm the role played by the glue calculated diffraction pattern. This is ity of calculational methods for neu- atoms to stabilize the quasicrystalline in agreement with the experimental tron transport in fusion blanket design. structure, additional calculations were results. A collaborative experimental prog- performed on crystalline Mn13Al54. Medical diagnostic imaging is fast ramme with Centre for Advanced High pressure angle dispersive developing from conventional analog Technology, Indore and Laser & x-ray diffraction measurements were screen film technique to digital tech- Plasma Technology Division of BARC carried out on adamantane at BL1OXU nique. There are several advantages in is in progress to study the properties beamline of Spring-8 to confirm the switching from analog to digital medi- of laser produced high density earlier Raman measurements which cal imaging such as filmless radiogra- matter and to verify the reliability indicated possibility of various phase phy, reduced dose, online display and of computational methods. transitions with pressure. enhancement of images which elimi-

The self shorting shock arrival time The alloy Sn075In025 was investi- nates the need for multiple exposures, transducer which detects the arrival gated for its high pressure behaviour easy archival and teleradiology. As a time of the shock wave at the known by ADXRD measurements, using the spin-off of developing CCD based position, can be used for both shock CCD based detector system to obtain x-ray diffraction imaging systems, a and particle velocity measurements in quick signature of structural transi- prototype x-ray imaging system suited a material, thus characterising the com- tions. The measurements were then for medical diagnostic purpose was plete equation of state. Transducers for repeated using imaging plate area designed. Feasibility study using this this purpose have been developed detector for accurate structural analy- system with isotopic source such as in-house. The transducers were tested sis. The analysis showed a phase tran- 1251 and a dental x-ray tube supplied in a few shock wave experiments, sition around 2.75 GPa. by BEL were carried out. Good qual- along with the manganin gauge tech- High pressure ADXRD experiment ity images suitable for medical pur- nique, on SS304 and rock samples. on the intermetallic compound Auln2 poses have been obtained. Further To examine the behaviour of was carried out at the Elettra synchro- work on developing a user friendly

2. 13 prototype medical imaging system is A vacuum spark plasma device (POK2) were analysed using under progress. based on the concept of passive trig- (i) regional Lg and Rayleigh waves A three dimensional neutron gering has been developed. This de- (ii) ratio of P & Lg amplitudes of both tomography technique based on CCD vice is driven by a single capacitor May 18, 1974 (POK1) and POK2 based detectors was developed. Fur- (7.2mF, 26kV, 160 kA) with an inte- recorded at common stations, and ther work in this area for 3D visual- grally mounted sparkgap. (iii) corrected global P wave magni- ization of an object and for perform- tudes. All these analysis gave the yield ing operations such as slicing at any Seismology in the range 52-63 kt agreeing well with angle, peeling off some portions of it All the seismic monitoring and the announced yield and the post-shot nondestructively, were carried out. data processing facilities located at radio chemical yield. The estimates This work is being further extended for Mumbai, Gauribidanur and Delhi con- of regional Lg magnitude of POK2 CCD based three dimensional x-ray tinued to function satisfactorily to is 5.47 and the surface wave magni- tomography for industrial purposes. detect the seismic signals due to earth- tude Ms is 3.56. Various components and systems re- quakes and underground nuclear In house generated spectro- quired for such a work are being fab- explosions from the whole world. As grams of explosions and earth- ricated and assembled. part of our plans to upgrade the data quakes giving details of seismic waves Neutron diffraction studies are cur- acquisition and processing facilities the in frequency and time, were used as rently being carried out using gas filled Seismic Array at Gauribidanur is new technique to study the source detectors. A feasibility study of using being upgraded to a wide band digi- features of these events. The analysis CCD based neutron detectors for neu- tally acquiring, communicating and re- of POK2 and 28 May, 1998 Pakistan tron diffraction work has been carried cording array. Five digitally commu- explosion spectrograms showed that out and some initial results using stan- nicating stations with central receiving the ratio of source energies between dard powder samples were obtained. station was commissioned. Two num- these explosions were much larger than These experiments have helped in bers of three component wide band that predicted by global mb values. identifying the design features required systems were commissioned one at A new regional magnitude scale for in the development of CCD based neu- Gauribidanur and one at Delhi Seis- Lg waves was developed and the scale tron detectors suited for neutron dif- mic Unit. gave the magnitudes of Indian explo- fraction experiments. Further improve- The seismograms generated at close sion and Chamoli earthquakes fairly ments in the setup are being planned. in, regional and teleseismic distances accurately. A study of Rayleigh waves A 40 kV/ 280 kJ, capacitor bank by the May 11,1998 Indian explosions passing the Himalyan Crust showed has been made operational for experimental studies on matter at high Weather Model Data processed by using Aupam-Alpha Super Computer energy densities. The bank consists of 48 energy storage capacitors with pressurized air spark gaps. Simultaneous triggering of all the capacitors well within a transit time isolation limit of 100 ns is achieved by means of a master and two sub-master trigger generators, each generating 24 trigger out- puts. A compact, high neutron yield, low energy (1.6 kJ) Mather type plasma focus device of squirrel cage geometry was developed. In an attempt to make a small neutron source for various applications, another mini plasma focus device was designed and developed. The device was a Mather type co-axial gun of length 70 mm and 38 mm diameter.

2. 14 ANUPAM PENTIUM Pll/16 Parallel Processing Super Computer \

Ethernet Switch, 100 Mbps

16 Pentium II, 333 Mhz, Personal Computers

Display Monitor Sustained Speed of 16 nodes = 13 Giga flops Expandability = 128 Nodes Estimated Speed on 128 nodes = 13-16 Giga Flops

Anupam Supercomputer high Q along certain paths, indicating ing source parameters has brought out Electronics, Instrumentation and thickness of crust along these paths. new results. The seismic evaluation Computers Research in the field of synthesis of sites for installing vibration sensi- Technology contributions from of seismograms, artificial neural net- tive equipment was carried out for B ARC to the reactor units at Kaiga and work and spectral analysis for distin- agencies within DAE and outside Rajasthan cover several computerised guishing seismic sources and estimat- DAE. control and instrumentation systems

Pipe Inspection Gauge (PIG)

2. 15 performing a wide variety of functions processing capabilities to a number of cessfully commissioned at Heavy such as the plant protection, control of thermal analysis systems at BARC and Water Plant (Manuguru) and another important processes and operator sup- other units of DAE being used for damaged spectrometer was dismantled port. Programmable digital compara- thermo-gravinating, differential ther- and refurbished. Another mass spec- tor system, dual processor hot standby mal analysis, thermo-mechanical trometer was completed in all respects process control system, dual proces- analysis, etc. for the isotopic analysis of lithium and sor hot standby reactor regulating sys- A centralised computing facility to boron samples. tem, PSS rod monitoring unit, chan- cater to the ever increasing computing A DC Arc Power supply was fab- nel temperature monitoring system, needs of scientific community is ricated and delivered to AMD, digital recording system, on-power being set up as a IX Plan project. Hyderabad after acceptance tests by refuelling machine control system, The Pipe Inspection Guage (PIG) the users. This unit, which is an Supervisory Control and Data Acqui- system developed earlier in BARC has import substitute, was commissioned sition System (SCADA), radiation data gone through successful trials at the test at Hyderabad for emission spectros- acquisition system and a large variety facility of Indian Oil Corporation at copy work. Technology for the indig- of radiation monitoring instruments are Faridabad, and is now ready for field enous fabrication of sputter ion pumps some of the areas of important inputs trials in Barauni-Patna pipeline. Based was transferred to industry. A 100 from BARC. The development of on the success of this development, Amp/40V 50 ppm stability magnet SCADA system is attracting a number plans have been drawn up for building current regulator fabricated for Calicut of other agencies for its supply and pipe inspection guages for larger University was tested and delivered to technology transfer. Development of diameter pipelines. the users. Also a research scholar was portable spectroscopy system, 16K/8K A portable, rechargable battery trained at TPPED, BARC in the instal- MCA PC add-on and Bed side Veno operated and simple system called lation and operation of the power sup- screen have made good progress. "Bedside Vaso Screen" has been de- ply which is now operating at the Phys- Vision systems facilty for material veloped at Bhabha Atomic Research ics Department of the above Univer- characterisation and automated inspec- Centre which can be taken to the bed sity. tion is being set up. side of the patient for periodic screen- A combined ion gauge and ANUPAM Super computer has ing of venous circulation in ICU and convectron gauge control unit for the been commissioned at the National ICCU wards in hospitals. This system measurement of vacuum from atmo- Centre for Medium Range Weather employs impedance plethysmographic sphere to 1010 Torr has been fabricated Forecasting, Delhi, thus providing a principle for the assessment of periph- and tested. successful alternative to currently used eral arterial blood flow as well as the A data system was developed for Cray X-MP dual processor resulting in status of venous circulation. The sys- the Li/B mass spectrometer that has considerable saving of expenditure on tem also employs a micro computer been made for in-house use. This maintenance of the obsolete super card Chameleon 220 and a LCD screen includes (1) scanning of isotopic computer. BARC Super computer is for data acquisition and display. peaks by the control of ion accelerat- able to execute the full suit of the ing voltage and magnet current, and weather forecasting programmes in Technical Physics & Prototype (2) data acquisition pertaining to ion comparable time. A supercomputer Engineering currents of masses 6, 7 or 88, and 89 consisting of eight Pentium-Ill nodes In the area of mass spectrometry, for isotopic ratio determination of connected through high speed switch capability of the Inductively Coupled mass 6/ mass7 or mass 88/ mass 89. has now reached a sustained speed of Plasma Source - Mass Spectrometer New data systems for D/H Mass 2 giga flops. A web based remote (ICP-MS) developed at the Centre, Spectrometers were developed, monitoring and control system has was enhanced and detection limits including PC compatible cards. The been developed and a technology near ppb range were realized for the systems, alongwith software, have synergiser is soon to be launched to following elements: Zn, Ge, As, Rb, been supplied for five mass spectrom- bring in greater interaction between Sr, Y, Zr, Mo, Cd, Ag, Pd, In, Cs, Ba, eters installed at HWP, Manuguru. researchers and users of research. La, Gd, Pb etc. An electric quadrupole A data acquisition set up was also Another development has been the assembly was also indigenously built developed to in-situ acquire data from completion of PC-based thermal and tested for eventual use on the ICP- plant components for Real Time Analysis system which can be used for MS system. One D/H mass spectrom- Monitoring of Aging of Power Plant providing high level of automation and eter was delivered, installed and suc- Components for the fatigue study.

2. 16 Design work towards development of on Zr2Fe intermetallic, in order to aug- nations were analysed. The types of double crystal monochromator for use ment the inelastic neutron scattering samples analysed included metals and on INDUS-2 beamline has made and low temperature specific heat mea- alloys, inorganic compounds, organic major advances. surements performed on the polycrys- and organo-metallic compounds, high Process was developed for prepar- talline samples of this material. Spe- purity materials, biological and envi- ing borosilicate glass having coeffi- cific heat parameters, electron-phonon ronmental samples, reactor materials, cient of expansion matching to Kovar coupling constant and the supercon- oils and other miscellaneous samples. metal. About 0.5 kg borosilicate glass ducting transition temperature have Several solution samples were also was synthesised and a number of been derived. analysed for various metallic constitu- multipin wafer base GM (kovar) seals Manufacturing support was pro- ents. Various techniques like flame were fabricated using this glass. About vided for building sub-systems for sev- AAS, graphite furnace and hydride 4.5 kg lead silicate glass powder was eral ultra high vacuum based analyti- generation AAS and ion and gas chro- synthesised and used to fabricate cal instruments required for various matographic methods, neutron and single pin small and big level sensors DAE programs and the development, charged particle activation analyses for HWP. standardization and prototyping of etc. were used. Other specialised ser- Regular production of xenon flash UHV components was continued. Job vices like thermal analysis, particle size lamps for laser programme, ionisation shop help was also provided in manu- and surface area analysis, determina- gauges for UHV systems, and glass to facturing critical components. tion of non-metals like C, O, N, S, H metal seals of different types was in metals, alloys and other materials maintained. More than 100 flash lamps Chemical Sciences were carried out, as and when needed. to CAT and 20 BA gauges to various Chemistry is an essential and inte- To further enhance the analytical users in BARC were supplied. Also gral part of many aspects of nuclear capabilities, state-of-the-art instru- Technology Transfer Documents were energy and radioisotope application ments like HPGe T-ray analyser, elec- finalized to pass on the know how for programme. IX Plan projects envisage troanalytical system, atomic absorp- commercial production of BA gauges setting up of advanced state of art tion spectrophotometer, inductively and DRDs. Laser facilities for studying & control- coupled plasma atomic emission spec- About 60 implantations have been ling ultra fast chemical reactions, bond trometer and other minor equipments carried out with the 30 KeV ion im- selective chemical reactions & isotope were installed. planter. Boron, phosphorus, arsenic selective reactions and Facility for Several analytical procedures were and litrogen ions of various energies molecular design of advanced materi- developed. Important among them in- and doses are implanted. Post implant als to synthesise molecules with cluded a method for determination of oxide passivation study has been done. designer properties (such as super con- sulphur in thoria, preconcentration and These detectors showed reduced leak- ductivity & ferromagnetism), new gen- separation of 231Pa from the monazite age current and better stability com- eration of micro-porous materials, plant streams, estimation of trace im- pared to epoxy passivated devices. novel catalysts, nano-materials and purities in high purity materials and

A few BaF2 scintillation crystals diamond films. reactor grade thoria and uranium, de- doped with various rare earth elements New methods are being developed termination of boron by flow injection with different concentration have been for decontamination, minimising bio- method, determination of arsenic in grown and have been studied for their fouling, understanding thermodynamic ground water and of trace metallic in thermoluminiscence, photolumines- & structural properties of proposed treated sea water and in pharmaceuti- cence and radiation damage tolerance. new fuels and spent fuels. cal preparations or their raw materi- Magnetisation experiments were als, analysis of silicon metal for trace performed using SQUID magnetom- Analytical Chemistry impurities etc. eter in the peak effect region of super- Apart from in-house requirements Analytical research was carried out conductor NbSe2 to investigate various of various divisions of BARC and on various aspects of separation tech- metastable vortex states corresponding other units of DAE, analytical service niques, supported membranes, elec- to different critical current densities. support was provided to private and troanalytical and thermo analytical First principles LMTO electronic public sector organisations, hospitals methods. A class-100 laboratory is structure calculations, along with lat- and academic institutions, to solve being set up for the ultra trace analysis tice dynamical calculation of the their analytical problems. A total of of high purity materials. BARC par- phonon spectrum have been carried out 4040 samples involving 9380 determi- ticipated in the intercomparison exer-

2. 17 cises on the preparation and has been initiated to study phase dia- min., Feed = 0.15 mm/rev.; depth of standardisation of Bharatiya Nirdeshak gram and vaporization behaviour of cut = 1 mm on O.D. and ID). Thermal Dravyas of National Physical Labora- the phases in the Ru-Te system. At- conductivity of ThO2 and Th0 9gU0 02O2 tory and collaborated with VECC on tempts were made to prepare reduced has been measured to look into the the helium recovery studies from ternary oxides such as UTeO4, thermodynamic and transport proper- Bakreshwar hotwater spring in West ThMo2O6, ThMo2O7 etc. and study ties of thoria based fuels. This infor- Bengal. their thermodynamic stabilities. mation is likely to be used in advanced Photochemical degradation of ion- thoria based heavy water reactors. Applied Chemistry exchange resins was carried out in A number of uranium and rare earth In the field of catalysis and surface aqueous solutions, on a pilot plant based intermetallic compounds were sciences, advances were made towards scale from the point of view of waste investigated for their hydrogen absorp- development of a H2 recombiner for management. Conversion of resins into tion characteristics. Structural, mag- removal of hydrogen from the contain- CO2 and water could be achieved in netic, heat-capacity and transport prop- ment areas of nuclear reactors under about 100 minutes with our photo erties were monitored as a function of postulated accident conditions. Noble reactor. Pulse radiolysis of hetero- hydrogen content and temperature. metal based catalysts with better cyclic thiols was studied for the first The indigenously designed and fabri- adhesion properties were developed time to compare their radiation protec- cated Time of Flight Mass Spectrom- for this purpose and their poisoning tion properties with other thiols. Ion- eter has become fully operational dur- behaviour was investigated in detail. chromatography was used for deter- ing the current year. The equipment Studies on fundamental aspects of mining the site of attack and mecha- has been used for the photochemical catalysis included entrapment of nism of reaction of e" and OH radi- investigations of a variety of atmo- molecular clusters in zeolite cages and aq spherically important molecules such cals with dihalobenzines containing catalytic behaviour of supported nano- as dimethyl sulphide, dimethyl different halogens. size gold particles. disulphide and a number of halocar- Work connected with setting up of bons. The multiphoton ionisation and Thermal expansion studies on a Dynamic Autoclave system and decomposition investigations have ThO2-2Wt% UO2 and Th,.x Cex O2 chemical Decontamination of clean up been carried out using nanosecond (x=0.0, 0.04, 0.08 and L0) were system of TAPS Unit 2 is progressing pulse lasers and the possible reaction carried out up to 1473 K. Several satisfactorily. Studies relevant to this mechanism for the photo decomposi- mixed oxides like Ca2Bi2V2O]0, viz. material compatibility studies in tion of these molecules has been pro- Ca2Bi2V3O|25,.Ca3BiV2O95,Na2Bi2V2 decontaminant formulation, compara- posed. Chemistry of benzyl selenide O9 and anion rich mixed fluorides tive dissolution characteristics of Cr 2+ 2+ 3+ complexes of Pt/Pd group elements M7M'6F32 (M=Ba , Sr , M'=Er , substituted haematites and magnetittes 3+ has been investigated with a view to Pr ) were prepared and characterized. in CEA and LOMI formulation, prepa- use them for the preparation of metal The phase relation studies on ration of LOMI formulation using dif- selenides. YF3-MgF2 were carried out. A few ferent cathode materials etc are being mixed oxides like Mn-doped LaVO4 pursued. To develop a suitable chro- and Bi4V2On were investigated for mous LOMI formulation as an alter- Radiation Chemistry & Chemical temperature programmed reduction native to vanadous complexes, Cr (II) Dynamics and oxidation. The catalytic activity complexes are being prepared by re- The procedure for radiolytic prepa- of some of them was also studied. acting Cr(III) hydroxide with different ration of polyvinyl alcohol-based Iodine release experiments from ligands. Studies are on to improve the hydrogels, free from any solutions, was ThO2- 2% UO2 fuel pellets were car- current cooling water treatment prac- modified and their physical properties ried out. Preparation, characterization tice in power stations. like mechanical strength swelling char- and thermodynamic stabilities of acteristics and thermal properties were Cs2Th03, CsZrO3, Rb2Th03, Rb2Zr03, Novel Materials & Structural tested. These preparations in various SrThO which are important for the Chemistry sizes have undergone successful clini- prediction of AHWR fuel performance Diamond coated WC tool inserts cal tests in various city hospitals for were studied. Preparation, character- (GIPIX) have shown 25% increase in healing of burn injuries. Results have ization and thermodynamic stabilities tool life in machining of cast iron pis- been excellent. Application for patent of rare earth molybdates, strontium ton ring stacks under actual industrial and FDA clearance have been made. ruthenates etc. are in progress. Work production runs (cutting speed = 80 ml Research work on ultrafast phe-

2. 18 nomena using pico and femtosecond in model micellar cavity, ionic solva- only base metal assisted oxide disso- lasers was continued. Conformational tion in charge transfer and solvent lution reaction in carbon steel speci- changes in benzils, ultrafast relaxation polarization in ionic solvation, dipo- mens with 40 mm magnetite film was processes in laser dyes and effect of lar liquids is being pursued with vigour. occurring. Corrosion behaviour of car- H-bonding on rotational dynamics of Theoretical studies on polymers at in- bon steel, monel-400 and Incoloy-800 pyrrolopyrrole derivatives was inves- terfaces and adsorption of a Lennard- in various decontamination formula- tigated. New work on ultra fast pro- Jones fluid mixtures in slit pores are tions was studied using electrochemi- cesses in metal nanoparticles in solu- being carried out. Ab-initio quantum cal techniques. An electrochemical tion was carried out. Phonon-solvent mechanical calculations were per- cell with YSZ high temperature pH relaxation processes in copper formed on several H-bonded com- probe and in-house fabricated exter- nanoparticles, manipulation of plexes and intermolecular complexes nal pressure balanced reference elec- nanoparticles sizes on laser irradiation of nitrogen oxides of interest to atmo- trode was set-up. were investigated. Trapped state emis- spheric chemistry. Theory of intensity The chemical cleaning formulation sion from TiO2 nanoparticles in fluctuations correlation arising in evaluated earlier was successfully microemulsions was reported for the single molecule fluorescence spectros- tested on a specimen trepanned from first time. Photo-oxidation of CF2Br2 copy has been developed. the tube sheet of a failed steam gen- to give BrO radicals, important from erator of MAPS. Enthalpy of the vari- the point of view of atmospheric pho- Water and Steam Chemistry ous reactions involved in the prepara- tochemistry was investigated. Free An activity transport code for pre- tion and application of the chemical radical pathways in the 193 nm pho- dicting the radiation field build-up in cleaning formulation was estimated todissociation of cyclohexadines have the primary heat transport system of and an engineering design for the mock been studied. Radiation and photo- PHWRs is being developed. Ther- up and actual steam generator clean- chemical studies on antioxidants, modynamic calculations on the cation ing at MAPS was prepared. pineal drugs like melatonin and distribution in ferrites and chromites Based on the work done on barnacle seratonin, substituted quinones and showed that a significant fraction of (Balanus reticulatus) larval culture and substitued fullerenes were continued. zinc and cobalt ferrites only trans- experiments on the settlement Reaction of nitroxide radicals with a formed into inverse spinel at tempera- behaviour of larvae, a larval bioassay large number of organic substrates was tures above 300°C. Computations on protocol has been standardized. This studied using stopped flow spectro- the thermodynamic feasibility of the method can be used for the evaluation photometry. Excited state properties various ion exchange reactions of antifouling techniques using the and electron transfer reaction of or- between ferrites and ions in the cool- Biofouling Test Loop Facility, which ganic sulfides, thiophenols and many ant water showed that zinc incorpora- is in an advanced state of completion other compounds have been investi- tion was relatively easy on magnetite near MAPS premises. Bacterial gated. A new process for deposition than on nickel ferrite. biofilm formation on various heat ex- of diamond films on suitable substrates Interaction of copper ion with changer material surfaces was studied has been developed and is being pat- carbon steel surfaces in decontamina- under laboratory conditions. ented. The wavelength range for ki- tion formulations and the adsorption Regular monitoring of the cooling netic spectrophotometry, pulse radioly- of various chelating agents on magne- water treatment programme of FBTR sis studies, based on a 7 MeV LINAC, tite and hematite surface were studied. was carried out by assaying total het- has been extended upto -1600 nm by Several substituted ferrites were syn- erotrophic bacteria, iron bacteria and incorporating an IR monochromator thesized by solid state methods and sulfate reducing bacteria both in cool- and a photodiode. Electron guns for characterised. The dissolution ing water and on the carbon steel cou- our LINAC have been indigenously behaviour of these ferrites, hematite pons exposed online in the cooling cir- fabricated by CAT, Indore. and meghemite in EDTA, PDCA, cuit. To develop a corrosion inhibitor BARC has a strong group on theo- HEEDTA, NTA and thioglycolic acid for FBTR service water system com- retical chemistry. Work on theories of was studied. ponents (carbon steel), various nanoparticle catalysed electron trans- A new method of instantaneous phosphonic based-polymer com- fer reactions, solvent dynamical effects corrosion rate measurement of carbon pounds formulations were made and on charge transfer processes, dielectric steel in acidic medium based on tested. Based on field studies carried friction and solvation time correlation amperometric estimation of hydrogen out at Rajasthan Atomic Power Sta- function, nonpolar solvation dynamics was developed. It was confirmed that tion, chlorination regime of low dose

2. 19 continuous chlorination for 24 hours every alternate day was recommended. The primary system of high temperature high pressure (HTHP) system was commissioned and the secondary side hot commissioning is in progress.

Bio-organic Chemistry Antioxidants have assumed importance both from health perspective and as food preservatives. A related aspect is naturally occurring radio-protectants which can prevent radiation induced biomolecular damages by radical scav- enging and upgrading in vivo defence mechanism. Earlier, a new polysaccharide, isolated from the Indian medicinal plant, Tinospora cordifolia was found to be a good immuno-modulator. A patent applied for the process of its preparation has been accepted. The protective activity of the formulation towards the g-ray induced damage of DNA, lipid and protein has been demonstrated. Polypeptides have emerged as desirable high-value compounds due Encouraging results have been obtained with the pheromones synthesised at Trombay to their application as medicinal compounds including radio-pharmaceuti- • \ < cals. Efficient bio-evaluation of these ., •*: - requires high throughput screening and 1 hence development of combinatorial libraries is being tried. To this end, two JHt^A IK? * ^^B^^H •n mi • silicon-based linkers have been devel- FIN oped for the synthesis of several iff *», polypeptides including congeners of ?8» somatostatin, which are useful as ?^. *

2.20 Encouraging result has been fuel by chop leach process in the of arsenic in ground water by Proton obtained in the All India Coordinated reprocessing plants a small but signifi- Induced X-ray emission (PIXE). trials for the control of sweet potato cant amount of residual fuel remains weevil pests using the BARC synthe- in the hull due to incomplete leaching Fuel Chemistry sized pheromone. A cheaper and of the crimped hull. A method based The activities in this field include highly efficient pheromone dispenser on the measurement of fission prod- development of facilities for fuel fab- has been developed. Using mating dis- uct gamma rays from the leached hull rication, investigations on the ruption technique, the efficacy of syn- has been developed for the estimation behaviour of materials at high tempera- thetic pheromone of the cotton boll- of the fissile elements in the leached ture, chemical quality control of worm has been established in field ap- hull. The developed Hull monitor is nuclear fuel materials, process chem- plication. In continuation of the ongo- being used to monitor the leached hull istry and studies related to the chemis- ing project on use of insect growth basket at KARP, Kalpakkam. try of actinides and fission products. regulator in sericulture in collabora- Labeled radiopharmaceutical Sol-gel microsphere pelletization tion with Central Sericulture Training preparations are routinely used in the (SGMP) technique employs free-flow- and Research Institute, Mysore, the diagnosis of cancer and functioning of ing sol-gel derived microspheres, in BARC developed IGR formulation has organs like lever, kidney etc. by radio- place of powders, as feed material for been tested all over India and found imaging techniques. It is of utmost making pellets. After the successful highly satisfactory. A new and cheap importance to validate these prepara- demonstration of this technique for formulation is now being tried for the tions before they are injected into the obtaining good quality high-density same. patients. Radiochromatography is the UO2pellets suitable for PHWR fuel, a present day accepted method to esti- large-scale preparation UO3 Radiochemistry mate the percentage of labeling and to microspheres was undertaken. UO3 gel A method based on the absorption study the stability of such labeled spheres were prepared in several of gaseous fission products on active radiopharmaceutical preparations. batches, calcined and characterised to charcoal kept at liquid nitrogen tem- Such a system was not available in obtain around 260 kg of good quality perature followed by direct gamma ray India. Hence a Radiochromatography product. Sol-gel microsphere pelle- spectrometry has been developed for system has been assembled with the tisation studies of thorium oxide were the estimation of the gaseous fission available units and additional neces- continued to obtain high density products (isotopes of xenon and kryp- sary hardware was incorporated to microspheres. These sintered spheres ton ) in the moderator cover gas of the develop the system. This system is in- would be used for some diffusion- PHWRS. stalled and is in use at RMC, Parel, related studies. The cooling water at RAPS was Mumbai and has been found to be a Ion exchange studies of Pu(IV) by assayed and investigated for bacterio- good import substitute. Similar sys- macroporous bifunctional phosphinic logical quality and biofilm formation tems are being developed for other acid (MPBPA) resin have shown that users also. on different substrata. Experiments to Pu(IV) can be removed from HNO3 find out chlorine demand and optimum With an aim to determine the macro solutions containing HF without the dose for controlling biofouling were and micro nutrients present in the soil addition of any complexing agent to also carried out. sample and to identify the origin of suppress the effect of HF. With an aim to examine the effect different soils by trace element finger Studies were carried out to recover of nuclear structure on charge distri- print pattern, a set of seven agriculture Pu from oxalate waste (generated bution, Fractional cumulative yields soil samples from different parts of during -Pu oxalate precipitation) by (FCY) of several fission products in India were subjected to neutron acti- coprecipitation with calcium oxalate. the mass region 128-148 have been vation analysis. A total of 14 samples Pu was reduced toPu(III) state. 36 g. of determined radiochemically in the fast each duplicate were irradiated for 7 CaCO3 per litre is needed to bring down neutron induced fission of 244Cm hours in APSARA reactor and the Pu level from 81mg/l to 0.6 mg/1. (99.43 atom%). From these data, activation products were assayed by Work on the recovery and purifi- charge distribution parameter, such as high resolution gamma ray spectrom- cation of plutonium from calcium fluo- width parameter (sz) and most prob- etry. The elements present in the soil ride matrix was continued. The feasi- able charge (Zp) were obtained are Na, K, Mg, Ca, Mn, Co, Sc and bility of simple methods of plutonium uniquely for these mass chains. rare earths. A method has been devel- hydroxide and plutonium oxalate pre- During the dissolution of the spent oped for the estimation of trace level cipitation, where calcium is left in

2.21 solution, has been assessed for their and Arsenazo(III) as post column growing demand of radioisotopes & application to plutonium purification derivatisation reagent. A method has radiation technology in industries and on bulk scale. Experiments were car- been standardized for the determina- health care services in India. This ried out taking thorium as a stand-in tion of nitrogen in the fuel samples. programme envisages upgrading for plutonium. Thorium oxalate was An Ion Chromatographic procedure Isotope Hydrology Laboratory, NDT found to contain 1300 ppm calcium, with conductivity detection has been capabilities, enhancement of electron where as thorium hydroxide contained developed for sulphur speciation beam irradiation services to Industries 3000 ppm. Thus quantitative separa- studies. and development of new diagnostic & tion of thorium in a solution contain- Determination of O/U ratio in ura- therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals for ing large excess of calcium is feasible. nium dioxide powders by determining nuclear medicine. The suitability of stabilized zirco- U(IV) and U(VI) by biamperometry In the area of Isotope and Radia- nia as a host matrix for fixation of has been standardised. The O/U ratios tion Technology applications, the work cerium, neodymium and uranium has and RSD was found to be ± 0.0016 on construction of Food Irradiator for been determined by studies on solid which is comparable with literature potatoes and onions as on Industrial solubility and chemical durability. The data. scale is progressing well at Lasalgaon work has also been initiated to estab- To ensure stringent specifications, nearNashik. lish the behaviour of plutonium in sta- chemical quality assurance of nuclear Multi centric trials on phosphorous- bilized zirconia. fuel requires accurate analysis of vari- 32 coated stents for use in angioplasty Several compounds were prepared ous major and minor constituents procedures are yielding encouraging in Ba-U-O, Ba-Th-0 and Ba-Nb-0 present in it. Analytical services were results. system by solid state reactions and provided for the analysis of large num- Liquid filled balloon approach for characterised by XRD. A high tem- ber of samples received from RMD endovascular beta irradiation to pre- perature mixing calorimeter was and other units of DAE by different vent restenosis after angioplasty is fast designed for carrying out measure- techniques. A number of techniques gaining popularity among cardiolo- ments on radioactive substances. such as Electrometry and comp- gists. The radioisotope chosen should In connection with the participation lexometry for the analysis of U, Pu and be in a chemical form which could rap- in the Interlab comparison experiment Th, Mass spectrometry for isotopic idly excrete out via the urinary blad- among PREFRE, BARC and SAL abundance measurements, Alpha spec- der. In giving due consideration to this (IAEA), the mass spectrometric analy- trometry for determination of 241 Am fact, a method for the preparation of sis of the spiked samples as well as iso- content in Pu samples, Gas chroma- 188Re-DTPA complex has been opti- topic composition of Pu and U were tography for gas analysis, X-ray dif- mized. carried out using rhenium double fila- fraction for phase identification, X-ray Potential I25I sources for treatment ment assembly. In case of U samples, fluorescence for elemental analysis, of ocular tumours and also prostate the 235U/238U ratio and in the case of Ion-chromatography for non metallic cancer is well-known. A method has Pu samples, the m?u/2i9?u ratio was constituents, Elemental analyser for C, hence been developed to prepare a determined by Thermal Ionisation H, N, O determinations were used for large number of sources by physical Mass Spectrometer. the analysing the samples. Hot vacuum absorption (coating). In the on going search for a suit- technique with an on line QMS is used Isotope hydrology laboratory is able complexing agent for boron which for determination of hydrogen and being upgraded with the state of the could be used for separation and deuterium content in coolant channels art instruments and isotope processing determination of boron by HPLC, of PHWR. Surface area and porosity facilities are being refurbished. Devel- chromotropic acid was identified as a measurement was done for a wide va- opment of selected radiopharm- probable complexing agent. A fast and riety of samples received from various aceuticals is continuing. efficient method for separating the divisions in BARC. Post shot soil An isotopic study has been carried individual lanthanide elements has samples were analysed by mass spec- out to find out the sources of water been investigated using HPLC. The trometry, alpha spectrometry and X- seepage in the basement in some parts studies were carried out using a ray diffraction. of Jodhpur city. reversed phase column, a-hydroxy A model watershed with Continu- isobutyric acid (HIBA) as the eluent, Isotope Technology & Applications ous Contour Trench (CCT) layout has camphor sulphonic acid / n-octane sul- The radiation & isotope technology been developed under the World Bank fonic acid as the ion pairing reagent programme is oriented to meet the aided pilot Watershed Development

2.22 Projects (1983-93) at Dr. Panjabrao The study showed that the bedload 30 primers were identified as useful Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, movement was predominantly towards primers for determining the genetic Maharashtra. The system is found to the south of injection point, i.e. constitution of the hybrid seed. Cot- be effective in soil and water conser- towards the bay of Bengal. This has ton hybrid seed lots are being analysed vation leading to augmentation of resulted in large financial savings to with these markers. The result so ob- groundwater recharge. To quantify the the Calcutta Port Trust. tained would be compared with those efficacy of the approach, components Under the programme of Radiation generated in the grow out test carried of water balance need to be deter- Processing of Indigenous Natural out by the seed certification agency. mined. With this aim, a collaborative Polymers, the RCA-CRP on biode- BARC participates in the Data- research programme • with gradable polyethylene/agrowaste com- base, comprising laboratories from all Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi bination was taken up. In this project, over the world, in the international Vidyapeeth, Akola has been initiated. polyethylene films blended with rice collaborative project on micronuclei During this year, gamma scanning husk and bagasse were successfully in human populations. Compilation of 12 different types of columns like processed using electron beam irradia- of the CBMN data, on baseline crude distillation column, depropaniser tion and the film showed good me- micronuclei frequencies, from normal columns, separator columns and chanical strength and pronounced bio- healthy subjects, Beta Thalassaemia quench towers raging 2 to 9.1 meters degradability. traits and constitutional chromosome in diameter and having height in the anomalies cases, accumulated in the range of 40 to 60 meters have been Bio-Sciences various projects undertaken by the carried out in chemical and petro- Research in bio-sciences is directed laboratory from the years 1987 to chemical industry. Four training towards evolving high yielding food 1997 was carried out. programmes in radiography testing crops and delaying or preventing post- A low level radiation research labo- level-II as per ISO 9812 were con- harvest losses by increasing shelf-life, ratory (LLRRL) building which is a ducted for about 140 participants from developing newer modalities for low part of Monazite Survey Project at Indian industry. dose cancer radiotherapy and employ- Kollam, Kerala was inaugurated to A workshop was conducted on ing molecular and isotope techniques study the effects of low level radiation Dam Safety & Management jointly by in basic biology for disease diagnosis on human population living for sev- Central Board of Irrigation & Power and finger printing of individual & eral generations and centuries in the (CBIP) and International Commission population. high background radiation areas. On Large Dams (ICOLD) in which The civil construction of POTON experts from BARC presented case Irradiator at Lasalgaon near Nashik to Nuclear Agriculture & Biotechnol- studies of isotope applications on seep- demonstrate the feasibility of increas- ogy ages in dams carried out in India in the ing the shelf life of Potatoes and On- The R&D activities in this area are, last 3 decades. This has led to greater ions on commercial scale would make application of nuclear techniques in awareness on the benefits of isotope further progress. agriculture with the objective of devel- hydrology in dam safety and manage- A survey (MSP) is being conducted oping improved crop varieties, use of ment. and will continue to assess the detri- radiotracers in the study of fertilizers A National Training Programme on mental effects of low level radiation and behaviour of agrochemicals in the isotope techniques for water resources on man with special reference to popu- environment, and use of radiations in management was held during Novem- lation groups, occupationally exposed the control of insect pests; Biotechno- ber 1-20, 1999 at Centre for Water to permissible levels of low level logical applications for micropro- Resources Development & Manage- radiation in nuclear industry. pagation of economically important ment (CWRDM), Kozhikode, Kerala In vitro methodolgy for clonal crops and production of bioactive under the World Bank aided hydrol- propagation of pineapple and grapes compounds using plant cell culture and ogy project. Experts from BARC par- have been standardised. The in vitro Enzyme and microbial technology. ticipated in the programme and deliv- raised plants after hardening would be BARC has transferred several tech- ered lectures. transferred to the field for evaluation. nologies which includes release of Under sediment transport studies in Nearly 300 random decamer oligo- genetically improved crop varieties, the Hooghly estuary, the suitability of nucleotide primers were used in transfer of protocols for large scale dumping site for dredged material was screening six parental inbreds of three multiplication of tissue culture raised investigated using radiotracer method. popular cotton hybrids. About banana, transfer of bioreactor technol-

2.23 ogy for large scale production of plant Maharashtra State, Orissa and of sugars, organic acids and biomass and transfer of biopesticide Rajasthan State Seed Corporations aminoacids, and the changes in the development technology. BARC has TAG-24 was included in 'Package activity profiles of some enzymes dur- established linkages with Agricultural of Practices' for summer cultivation ing ripening has shown good results universities through MoUs for the ef- for Rajasthan by Rajasthan compared with the natural varieties. fective extension of the research ef- Agricultural University, Udaipur. Bioremediation is currently gaining forts. Field trials were initiated for importance as an economically alter- Yield trial of Trombay mustard cul- standardising a protocol for the trap- native technology for the treatment of tures at Nagpur Agricultural College ping of red palm weevil by using its radionuclide,heavy metal and organic showed TM-1 to be superior to the pheromone (4-methyl-5-nonanol and waste. A number of microbial and check variety in seed yield. Induced 4-methyl-5-nonanone in 9:1 ratio). agrobased bisorbents were screened mutation studies in Brassica juncea The pheromone trap fabricated from for their ability to biosorb uranium. resulted in the isolation of mutants for locally available materials has shown A new approach for affinity puri- yellow seed coat, low glucosinolates success in catching the red palm wee- fication of Con A from Jack bean meal and high oil content in the variety vils. using yeast cells adhered on cotton varuna. In B.napus seven lines stable Initial experiments using sterile in- cloth has been developed. for zero erucic acid and low/trace sect technique (SIT) on diamond glucosinolate content were developed backmoth (Plutella xylostella) showed Food Technology through single plant selection and that the optimum gamma ray dose to In the field of Food Technology, evaluation. induce sterility without affecting lon- BARC has been engaged in research Plants can be used to remediate gevity was 300 Gy. and development work related to pres- soils contaminated with heavy metals. In collaboration with HAL, Pune, ervation of food by gamma radiation Species of Sesbania, a green manure the toxicological data needed for the as well as by the conventional and plant, were used to study the uptake of registration of our biopesticide based emerging methods. It has a pilot scale lead, cadmium and uranium under hy- on indigenously isolated Bt strain Ba- facility which has been licensed to droponic conditions. cillus thuringiensis var kenyae have carry out irradiation of food and has The rDNA from groundnut has been generated with the help of vari- three gamma radiation sources for been cloned with a view to detect poly- ous institutes and formal application experimental irradiation. BARC was morphism and develop fingerprints for for its registration has been submitted involved in the framing of rules and Trombay groundnut varieties. Using to Central Insecticide Board (CIB) in regulations related to radiation pro- several varieties no rDNA length poly- May 1999. cessing of food in the form of morphism has been detected. Efforts Biocontrol mechanisms of Tricho- Maharashtra Control of Irradiation of are underway to concentrate on a derma pseudokoningii strain MTCC Food Rules. It has filed applications highly variable region of the rDNA 3011 isolated at BARC revealed that for clearances of additional food items gene namely the Inter Genie Spacer hyphal parasitism, rather than the to the Ministry of Health & Family (IGS). antibiotic production is responsible for Welfare. BARC has also undertaken Blackgram varieties developed at the effective control of sclerotial rot training courses for the operations of Trombay namely TAU-1, TAU-2, of vegetables and rhizomes. food irradiation facilities. TPU-4, TU94-2 and two national More than 1200 tissue cultured Various fruits and vegetables were check varieties T-9 and LBG-17 were plants were provided to seven research studied for their amenability to pres- analysed by ISSR-PCR for polymor- stations/universities within and outside ervation and hygienization by gamma phism with an intention of developing Maharashtra. radiation. These included mango, DNA fingerprints. A simple method for the bulk puri- chickoos, papaya, tamarind, tomato Nineteen new groundnut cultures fication of horse radish peroxidase and coriander leaves. It was found that are in different stages of evaluation in with over 90% purity, 55% recovery in mango carotenoid development was the ICAR's Co-ordinated trials. Sev- and a K4 value of 30,000 was devel- not affected by the application of enty five quintals of breeder seed of oped. This enzyme has a lot of appli- gamma radiation doses applied for de- four Trombay groundnut varieties cations in industry and diagnostics. laying the ripening process Table hpe worth Rs.2.85 lakh was produced Biochemical and physiological stage was achieved 14-16 days after under contract farming at Kolhapur evaluation of tissue cultured banana irradiation compared to 7-8 days in and dispatched to National, with respect to changes in the levels control. Shelf-life of chickoos could

2.24 by extended by 2-3 days after applica- product which could be stored at am- tomato, green coffee beans, mutton, tion of gamma radiation and storage bient temperature. onion, potato, chicken, animal feed and at ambient temperatures. A combina- Detection of irradiated meat using frozen food samples for R&D work. tion treatment of heat and gamma ir- ESR and GCMS analysis of radiolytic Radiation processing of potato, onion radiation was found to extend the products of lipids were studied. ESR and mango was carried out for shelf-life of papaya without affecting was also used for the detection of irra- M/s. Isotech lrradiators, Mumbai. its ripening parameters. Tamarind af- diated wheat flour. Root length and Radiation processing of coffee-beans ter irradiation was found to be free of number were also tested for detection and maize was also carried out for in- bacteria, yeasts and mold as well as of irradiated shallots. Detection of ir- sect disinfestation. from any insect infestation. A non radiated spices by viscometry was also destructive method using X-ray studied. Material Sciences machine has been developed for sort- In waste utilization studies gamma There is a wide range of materials, ing of mangoes infested with stone radiation was found to increase the uti- which find extensive applications in weevil and spongy tissue. lization efficiency of wheat straw for nuclear, space and defense applica- Dried figs exposed to gamma mushroom cultivation. The irradiated tions. These strategic materials are be- radiation could be stored without in- wheat straw was found-to give higher ing developed in-house for sustaining festation, whereas 60% of the non-ir- mushroom yield in a lesser time com- our nuclear programme. radiated samples showed insect infes- pared to non-irradiated straw. Special effort is being made to tation during a six month storage study. Autolytic degradation of proteins in upgrade the technology for the produc- Salad and seasonings including tomato radiation sterilized chicken intestinal tion and processing of Uranium com- and coriander leaves contaminated homogenates showed that the soluble pounds, develop processes for the with human pathogens could be effec- products increased with a concomitant separation of rare earths and Nuclear tively hygienized using gamma radia- decrease in the total protein. At a grade thorium, set up a lithium metal tion. higher temperature of 60°C rate of au- pilot plant and an advanced material Studies were also carried out on the tolysis increased four fold resulting in processing centre. radiation disinfestation of cereals, le- a complete degradation of proteins. Technology demonstration of fab- gumes and their products. Irradiation Jawala, a trash fish, was also found to rication of low temperature Nb-Ti of maize at disinfestation doses was be a source of protein hydrolysate. The multi filament super conducting cables found to show least insect damage homogenate prepared from fresh is taken up and necessary machinery compared to that in control and fumi- jawala could serve as a feed and food and materials are being procured. gated samples. Macronutrient content ingredient. A new antioxidant was iso- Using the existing facility, 50 mm long of maize was unaffected by the irra- lated from Jawala fish. Hygienization samples of 1.3 mm dia wire contain- diation process. Pre-packed besan ir- of poultry feed for elimination of Sal- ing around 500 filaments each of radiated at disinfestation doses of monella was carried out using gamma 40 micron size have tested in the gamma rays showed no changes in its radiation. indigenously developed new cryo- functional and sensory attributes up to Increased production of invertase a period of six months of storage. was obtained by fluidizing the biom- Nb-Ti Composite Super Conductor Similarly, disinfestation dose of 0.75 ass with invertase activity. Sodium Billet Assembly kGy applied to cowpeas did not affect erythorbate was found to be useful in the cooking quality and sensory at- controlling enzymatic browning in tributes. fruits during processing Xanthomonas A combination of dipping treat- campestris pv glycines, was found to ment in common salt and gamma ra- undergo programmed cell death. The diation could extend the shelf-life of a organism formed apoptotic bodies fish threadfin bream up to 5 weeks in which contained DNA devoid of the ice. Storage studies of ready-to-eat indigenous plasmids of the organism. meat kababs carried out up to 4 months Food Package Irradiator and other suggested that a combination of grill- experimental facilities for irradiation ing, vacuum packaging and gamma ir- were used for irradiation of food and radiation resulted in a microbiologi- experimental samples. Various food cally safe and sensorily acceptable products irradiated included fish,

2.25 genie facility. 1100 Amps current The various chemical ratios calculated taking shape at IIT Bombay. Our ex- could be passed through these samples from the data, clearly distinguish the tensive linkages with various Agricul- at 5 Tesla and 4.20 K temperature different generations of uraninite that tural Universities in Maharashtra, large without showing any resistive compo- are petrographically identified. scale component test work being done nent. The new cryogenic facility has A new process for purification of in the institutions like the Structural the capability to measure critical cur- Ammonium diuranate cake (ADUC) Engineering Research Centre, Chennai rents of samples up to 1200 Amps produced as a by-product of IREL and Nuclear Engineering Programme under magnetic fields going beyond 7 plant in Orissa was developed to with IIT Kanpur are some examples of Tesla at 4.20 K. Computer programme attain the requisite purity of ADUC. new initiatives in this regard. These to automate the acquisition of voltage- A project to set up Rare Earths linkages will enable to add strength to current characteristics of high current development laboratory is completed the programme of B ARC both in terms carrying super conductors is developed to carry out R&D for pure rare earths, of extended resources as well as in and preliminary testing is completed. their alloys and finished forms for terms of its quality. Preparations are underway to carry out Industrial applications. Experimental BARC regularly makes available cable tests. R&D on phosphors, separations, processes/technologies developed for A data acquisition set up has been hydro systems and pyro systems is in in-house use to Indian industries for developed to in-situ acquire data from progress. commercial exploitation. A number of plant components for Real Time Moni- technologies transfers and MoUs were toring of Aging of Power Plant Com- Chemical Technology & Heavy carried out during the year. BARC as- ponents for fatigue study. Water sists the industries for quality assurance Heat shrinkable shape memory al- A critical equipment is being pro- as well as for troubleshooting. loy sleeves have been developed and cured which is a vital component in are being supplied for the LCA Project. setting up an upgrading facility for The major achievement during the On the basis of BARC's support, ECIL heavy water used in Nuclear Power year 1999-2000 are as under: has been awarded a contract for devel- Plants. An alternative to this, an indig- Technology Transfer: Number of opment of stabilised antenna platform enous effort for design and develop- technologies such as Foldable Solar forMMRofLCA. ment of critical equipment such as Dryer, Lascan Dia Gauge, Triode Sput- Based on the technology developed Turbo-expanders, He Compressor, ter Ion Pumps, TLD Reader, Mini- on a laboratory scale, a two hundred Cryo- Heat Exchangers and Simulation Micro Stepping Control Drive, litres per batch capacity plant for syn- Rigs are at various stages of progress ANUDAQ-20 and 100 MSPS Tran- thesis of D2EHPA has been success- which form central equipment for de- sient Digitizer have been transferred to fully commissioned at Heavy Water contaminating and upgrading heavy interested parties. Plant (HWP), Talcher. This plant was water in PHWRs. Technology Development: A pur- inaugurated on 3rd September 1999. Construction of a Nuclear Desali- chase order worth Rs. 1.95 crores has After the successful trail runs, the plant nation plant at Kalpakkam to demon- been placed by NPCIL for technology is now operating on full scale and pro- strate the feasibility, safety and eco- development and supply of 'Sludge ducing D2EHPA with quality better nomic viability of coupling nuclear Lancing Equipment' for mashroom than imported one. reactor for sea water desalination is is type steam generators. Experiments have been carried out progressing well. on the synthesis of Tri (n) butyl phos- Sale of products: phate (TBP) at the 12 litres batch ca- Technology Transfer & Collabora- Within the country pacity to standardise the operating pa- tive Programmes Various hi-tech Products such as rameters at this level of production and Efforts to augment capability X-Ray Proportional Counter, Anugami to generate necessary data required for through strong linkages with academic P PC interface Card, Virtual Reality plant design. institutions and other national labora- Software, BF3 detectors, BF3CaF2 Mineral chemistry data on uranium tories are also bearing fruits. The complex containing B10, Titanium bearing phases from Jaduguda, Bhatin programme of our joint activity on anodes duly plated with enriched ura- and Narwapahar show that the ura- thermal hydraulics studies related to nium, Boron Carbide, Gamma Scan- ninite has uniquely low Thorium, but Advanced Heavy Water Reactor ning Equipment, Machined Uranium relatively high heavy rare earth element (AHWR) as also the Centre for Soft- Pellets, Fuel Tube head, Lithium Car- (HREE) content, particularly yttrium. ware Verification and Validati'on are bonate and Hexamethyl Propylene

2.26 Oxime (HMPAO) have been supplied ing technology (with M/s ACC Ltd.), armacy services and in-house manu- to interested parties/ companies. Development of indigenous technol- facture of cold kits were continued. ogy for manufacture of irradiation 99mTC-radiopharmaceuticals are Exports cross linked cables and heat shrinkable widely used as i.v. injectibles, in diag- Thoria (THO2) buttons to M/s GE, accessories (with M/s Nicco Corpn.), nostic nuclear medicine. These are gen- USA, TLD cards & cassettes and TLD Setting up of National Single Crystal erally formulated in hospitals just prior Personnel Monitoring Sysytem to M/s X-Ray Diffraction facility (with DST), to i.v. administration, into patients by 99m ISS, Saudi Arabia and TLDATE Soft- Strengthening of MSc (Radiation Phy) reacting TCO4- with the lyophilized ware to City University, Hongkong course (with Mangalore University), contents of a Sn(II) ligand 'cold kit'. have been exported. Development of Accoustic and RF Following the imposition of sanctions, Consultancy Services, Training Technology and setting up of Electron vital spares and accessories to the lyo- Programmes and Accreditation of Beam Centre (with SAMEER), philizer were not available. Thus, this Laboratory: Development of double zero mustard impasse was overcome by adopting Various Consultancy services in the (with NDDB), Development & modi- alternate process technologies for the field of Stress Analysis, Failure Analy- fication of Solvent Extraction process small -scale manufacture of Sn(II) sis, Gamma Scanning, Welding, Pow- for refining of Ammonium di uranate ligand 'cold kits'. ders Classification, Vibration Diagnos- (with IRE). A new "Nude Mice" facility was tics, Irradiation of diamonds for colour The follow up actions for various established to support the R&D activi- enhancement, Radio Isotope Applica- projects under Indo-German and other ties especially thyroid cancer. A begin- tions have been provided. Number of schemes have been taken. ning was made to start a veterinary di- training programmes were conducted agnostic service facility for felines and for Radiography testing and Nucleonic Patents other species. gauges, and Safety Aspects on Radia- Patent granted - "process for syn- A large number of sera samples tion Sources. thesis of 5,10,15, 20-tetrakis {3,4 bis from thyroid cancer patients are rou- M/s Renentech Laboratories Pvt- carboxy methyleneoxyl, phenyl} tinely assayed for serum Tg by con- Ltd., Mumbai has been accredited to chlorin from 5,10,15,20-tetrakis {3,4 ventional radioimmunoassay (RIA) at provide Personnel Monitoring Services bis (carboxymethyl) eneoxy)Phenyl] RMC. Altough, a relatively sensitive to radiation workers in India. prophyrin for detection of tunouirs has and easy to perform, the traditional been granted. RIA for Tg has limitations such as National and International Col- Apart from this seven patent appli- short shelf life of tracers Tg, time-con- laborations cations have been filed. suming, narrow working range. To Number of MoUs have been signed overcome these limitations of RIA, a during the year. Some of them are as Miscellaneous two site immunoradio-metric assay under: Process Design Consultancy Various activities for BRNS proj- (IRMA) has been optimized using and technical back-up for setting-up of ects were completed. Activities of in-house developed anti-Tg large sized thermal desalination plants INAE study group on Atomic Energy MabBlOIV. (with M/s TAS Engg. Co.), Trouble- were co-ordinated and a report is shooting and upgradation of Flourine being compiled. BARC home page International Relations - Regional Cell and Supply, Installation & com- was updated for all new technologies Co-operative Agreement (RCA) missioning of Flourine Purification ready for transfer. The revenue earn- India has been continuously system (with M/s Bloom Packaging)., ings for the first 9 months year of 1999 enhancing its participation in the RCA Use of radiation and radioisotopes in -2000 is Rs. 5.27 crores. activities. During the year 9 events agriculture (with Marathwada Agricul- were hosted in India in which 135 per- tural University and Konkan Krishi Medical Services sons participated. A total of 61 per- Vidyapeeth, Dapoli), Technology for Radiation Medicine Centre (RMC) sons from India participated in 38 other diamond polishing scaives (with M/s The three major areas of activities RCA events during the year. 9 mem- Diamond & Gem Dev. Corporation), of RMC are, patient services, R&D bers from RCA countries were pro- Sponsoring M.Tech Students in and human resources development. vided training under IAEA fellowship Nuclear Engg. & Tech. (with IIT, More than 20,000 patients attended scheme and 16 Indian experts extended Kanpur) for their absorption into DAE, the outpatient clinics, a large number their services to RCA MSs. Scaling up of Lepidolite ore process- being thyroid patients. The radioph- The Indian RCA National Home

2.27 Page was put on web and was demon- required for the ongoing and future RP is fast becoming a logical exten- strated to the joint UNDP/RCA/IAEA projects. CWS is continued to partici- sion of CAD/CAM. Stereolithography Lead Country meeting at Vienna. In pate in the development of CMS (SLA) based RP system SLA250/50 association with the Lead Country, detector & detector frames for is being installed in CWS. Of the dif- India submitted a draft proposal PHENIX, end fitting bodies and fuel- ferent RP techniques, SLA is accurate regarding the format and probable con- ing machines for 500 MWe PHWR, and faster. The prototypes can be used tents of the RCA Regional as well as control rod guide tubes for TAPS, con- for design verification (which reduces National Home Pages. trol rod drive mechanism components design cycle time tremendously), Form BARC experts participated in the & seal cutting machines for PRP Fit and Function tests. The RP models various Advisory Group and Project project, fuel spacer development for can be used as patterns for investment Formulation Meetings in agriculture, AHWR, special product handling sys- casting, vacuum casting and injection isotope applications in industry, inter- tem for EBC project Khargar among moulding etc. to produce number of nal dosimetry, research reactor opera- others. metallic and nonmetallic components. tion & utilization, distance learning for To enhance its over three decades The SLA based RP system in CWS is nuclear medicine technology & radia- of experience and capabilities, Central expected to be commissioned shortly. tion oncology etc., and were actively Workshops was restructured to provide Upgradation of Information Tech- involved in the review and formula- total integrated engineering solutions nology Services and Enhancement of tions of project proposals for 2001- to the Scientific Community in BARC. Computing Facility are being carried 2002 cycle. India has submitted a to- Under the IX Plan, Precision Fabrica- out as part of infrastructure enhance- tal of 18 new project proposals apart tion Facility has been set up, leading ment programme. from 3 ongoing projects for extension to the acquisition of several CNC To meet the newly emerging for the 2001-2002 cycle. Machines, Rapid Prototyping & demands of advanced Electronics & National Co-ordination Commit- Manufacturing System, Computer Instrumentation for various progr- tees have been formed in the field of Aided Engineering Facility with high ammes of DAE, E&I facilities in the agriculture, isotope hydrology, energy end engineering design solutions, areas of High technology nuclear elec- and air pollution, involving the premier including modeling assembly, analy- tronics, Vision system facility for research institutes and various end-user sis, CNC generation machining on the material characterisation and auto- organisations as one of the strategies latest graphic workstations in the CWS mated inspection and Laboratory for adopted to bring the benefits of nuclear Network. Excellence in Quality is the electron/ion optics, complementary technologies to the end-users. mission of Central Workshops pro- systems and related materials are be- vided through group effort of all ing augmented. Infrastructure Enhancement involved. Programme Rapid Prototyping (RP) is the tech- Central workshop gives support to nology that produces models and pro- BARC programme in the field of totypes from 3D CAD models, CT and design, development and installation MRI scan data and form3D object of critical equipment & components digitising / scanning systems. Today

2.28 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), primarily INDIRA GANDHI engaged in the development of sodium cooled fast breeder reactors to meet CENTRE the long term power needs, has established over the years, comprehensive R & D facilities. Fast breeder reactors form the second stage of the Indian FOR Nuclear Power Programme for effective utilisation of uranium, leading to the exploitation of the large energy potential in thorium in the third stage. ATOMIC The Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), with its small core, was operated successfully with excellent performance of the indigenously developed pluto- RESEARCH nium-uranium carbide fuel, reaching a burn-up level of 50,500 MWd/t, by November 1999. A programme of irradiation of zirconium-niobium alloy cladding was taken up for pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) and post-irradiation examination was also carried out successfully. With this expertise, the Centre has embarked on the design and development of 500 M We Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR). Significant progress was made in the design & development of components and systems of Nuclear Steam Supply Systems (NSSS) and the conventional systems of PFBR. KAMINI reactor was operated upto its rated power level of 30kW and utilised for irradiation, activation analysis of samples and also neutron radiography of specimens. The thrust of the R & D programme is presently aimed at supporting the design and the construction of the PFBR. In this connection, project work is progressing well on a 5.5 MWt (sodium heated) Steam Generator Test Facility. All the computer systems at IGCAR and also various Software developed and implemented were made Y2K compliant.

Fast Breeder Test Reactor FBTR The reactor was operated at 8 MWt and samples of zirconium-niobium and zirconium-2 alloys, used as structural materials in pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), were irradiated at a maximum targetted fluence to assess the in-reactor creep. One fuel subassembly of the Mark-I core, with a fuel burn-up of 50,500 MWd/t was dis- Hydraulic prototype of primary charged for post-irradiation examination (PIE) to assess its performance for pump on test bed increasing the burn-up further. Several important experiments related to reactor safety, major surveillance activities like the integrity test of the reactor containment building, visual examination of the reactor internals under sodium etc., were carried out. Further, the Y2K compliance test for the plant computers, that perform safety related functions were also carried out successfully. 2.29 It is planned to carry out physics (85 tubes) for the reheater of the steam Facility (SGTF) were pursued. experiments related to Failed Fuel generator is expected to be ready soon. The first phase of heat transfer Localisation, above core neutron flux Trials on various welds for the evapo- experiments on the LCTR, a major measurements etc., before raising the rator of the steam generator were sodium facility for heat transfer stud- reactor power for putting the Turbo- completed. The manufacturing draw- ies related to PFBR roof slab, was generator (TG) back into service. ings / documents for Control and completed. Further experiments were Safety Rod Drive Mechanism being taken up. The distributed con- KAMINI Reactor (CSRDM), Roof Slab Sector and trol system of LCTR was upgraded The reactor was operated upto its Transfer Arm were approved and for acquisition of various data. nominal power of 30 kW and the Ura- manufacture was in progress. All the components for the facility, nium-233 fuel attained a burn-up level including the sodium piping, for of 245 MWd/t. The south beam tube Structural Mechanics Analysis sodium water reaction experimental was used for the first time for neutron Various thermal hydraulics and studies, were erected. Ten tonnes of radiography of various specimens and structural mechanics analyses for sodium was charged into the storage it is planned to operate the reactor ensuring the structural integrity of tank and the commissioning of the for irradiation of samples for research, components of PFBR sodium circuits system was on hand. forensic purposes and also for neu- were completed. Towards indigenisation of the tron radiography of the irradiated fuel heaters suitable for operation up to subassembly from FBTR. FAST BREEDER REACTOR 600 deg. C, SS sheathed magnesium A six day workshop was conducted R & D AND ENGINEERING oxide insulated cable heaters were for creating awareness among the Engineering Development developed to meet the requirements. research institutions / universities / The engineering development As a part of the development of industries, on the potential uses of activities in support of PFBR include hydraulics of the compact Primary the reactor for neutron radiogra- the experimental studies on Large sodium pump, the manufacture of the phy, activation analysis and radia- Component Test Rig (LCTR), com- scale model (1:2.75) of hydraulic parts tion physics research. ponent hydraulics, sodium pump and and erection of the test facility were also reactor instrumentation. The completed. Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor construction of the Boron Enrichment The dynamic behaviour of the pri- (PFBR) Facility and Steam Generator Test mary pump rotor assembly was inves- Detailed discussions were held with Site Evaluation Committee and clear- Bending stress distribution in the Indigenously developed M.I cable ance from AERB for Kalpakkam site Steam Generator shell-nozzle junction heater is expected shortly. Further progress was made in the conceptual design of components and systems of NSSS, Steam-water system, electrical and plant layout & auxiliary systems. Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) for the above were under review by Internal Safety Committee and Project Design and Safety Com- mittee (PDSC). Work related to the site infrastructure development was initiated. The recommendations for the appointment of consulting engineers for the design consultancy services of PFBR were made.

Technology Development for Fabri- cation of PFBR components The tube bundle assembly

2.30 tigated in a full scale model and mea- out to determine the effect of fill ratings and fabrication of steam surement of vibration at a speed of gases on the response times of the generator for the facility were also 400 rpm was completed successfully. thermowell identical to core monitor- released. Development works on the slip ing thermowells of FBTR. The Isotope Separation Plant for joints for the primary and the sec- A new dynamic sodium loop was production of enriched Boron-10 was ondary sodium pumps, made progress. under commissioning for conducting in an advanced stage of construction. Leakage flow and cavitation experi- various experiments related to PFBR. All the equipment were erected and ments were completed under aligned The capability of the ultrasonic the DM plant was commissioned. The and inclined conditions, and manu- under-sodium scanner of FBTR was piping spools fabricated were rubber facture of piston ring seals for the improved. lined and erected. The commission- secondary sodium pump slip joint were An in-core flow measurement ing of the plant will be taken up shortly. completed. device using an earlier developed eddy The software for monitoring the plant Testing of the full scale dash pot current flow meter was tested for parameters was getting ready. The assemblies of the Control and Safety installation in FBTR. engineering experiments set-up was Rod Drive Mechanism (CSRDM) and The technology for the sodium under operation and 25% enhance- Diverse Safety Rod Drive Mechanism level sensors developed indigenously, ment of the isotopic composition of (DSRDM) were completed. Based on was transferred to industry. The sen- Boron-10 was achieved presently. the results, labyrinth type V ring seal sors were under manufacture, while Using IGCAR's expertise in the was selected as the primary barrier the electronics required were field of sodium technology, three for both the mechanisms. In collabo- received. training courses for a major petro- ration with IIT, Chennai, a tem- chemical industry at Chennai, were perature sensitive magnetic switch conducted. was developed and demonstrated. Testing of the PFBR dummy fuel Reactor Physics and blanket subassembly for pressure Periodic calibration of control rods, drop and cavitation behaviour were measurements of temperature and completed and the test section was power coefficients of reactivity and installed for carrying out experiments monitoring of reactivity loss due to on instrumented dummy fuel subas- burn-up were carried out for FBTR sembly. operation. The work related to the evaluation Object & the ultrasonic image The power calibration was verified of a flow distribution device and also to meet the surveillance requirements a temperature mixing device for the The project for the SGTF made of technical specifications of KAMINI. intermediate heat exchanger was com- good progress. Civil works for the The neutron flux at the thimble irra- pleted. The efficacy of different flow substation was completed, contract diation location in the reactor was distribution devices for the steam gen- for the construction of the main buil- also measured. erator was determined on a 3/5 scale ding was awarded and the founda- PFBR core physics design codes model in a water rig. tions were in progress. Work orders were approved by the Validation Com- Tendering action was initiated for for the erection and commissioning mittee. The safety analysis codes were 1/4 scale reactor assembly model, to of DG set and transformers were also reviewed. The document on inci- study the thermal, hydraulic and released. Detailed design of various dent/ Accident analysis of PFBR was vibration behaviour of reactor com- components for the sodium loop were under review. Probabilistic safety ponents. A 16-channel vibration completed and orders for the fabri- analysis of the shutdown and decay analysis system was commissioned. cation released. All the sodium tanks heat removal systems made progress. Development of a selector valve were received at site. Design of fired New multi-group data are being pre- and a Positional Drive System was heater for sodium was completed and pared for shield and core physics completed for the prototype Failed action was initiated for fabrication and design. Fuel Identification Module (FFIM). commissioning. Bids for the design, The manufacture of a sodium immers- supply, erection and commissioning Material Chemistry ible DC conduction pump for use of the steam water system were Electrochemical hydrogen meter, in the Module was also completed. evaluated and order placed Orders for based on molten salt electrolyte devel- An experimental study was carried the Boiler Feed Pump of specific oped, was operated, calibrated and 2.31 used for steam injection experiments. energy for the extraction were deter- FBTR, with a burn-up of 25,000 Carbon potential of stainless steel mined. MWd/t were dissolved in nitric acid was measured using electrochemical A programme to measure the solu- in hot cells employing both direct and carbon meters developed in-house. bility of extractants in supercritical electro-oxidative dissolution tech- Special sensor materials were carbon-di-oxide was taken up for niques. developed. Efforts were continued to extraction of actinides. A large volume of degraded oil of prepare nanocrystalline powders, for radiation shielding windows was use as sensor materials. Thermo-Chemistry purified. The usefulness of the electrolyte A novel method based on micro- based hydrogen sensors was tested for wave combustion synthesis was devel- Electronics and Instrumentation the decontamination of carbon steel oped to prepare Urania-Thoria pow- A Temperature Monitoring Sys- components. der that could be cold compacted and tem for FBTR reactor vessel, was The experimental set-up for the sintered to high densities at relatively designed, developed and imple- production of sodium, based on mol- low temperatures and the stability mented successfully. A 16 Channel ten salt electrolysis, was operated and of the compounds was determined. ASIC based alarm sequencer was one kilogramme, of sodium was pro- The fabrication of high-density ura- developed for tracing the sequence duced. nium oxide pellets using microwave of trip for boiler of FBTR. SCADA Mass spectrometric experiments heating, which is found to be simple system for HWP (M) was made Y2K continued to deduce the thermody- and rapid, was demonstrated. compliant and was handed over for namic data on compounds of tellu- regular operation. rium, which play an important role Pyro-Chemical Reprocessing A real time Data Acquisition Sys- in fuel-clad interactions. The enthalpies of formation and the tem was developed for Isotope Sepa- Sodium zirconium phosphate, Gibbs free energies of intermetallic ration Plant and commissioning was which is a candidate ceramic host compounds in thorium-gallium being taken up. material for nuclear waste imm- (Th-Ga) & calcium-gallium (Ca-Ga) Fibre Optic based LAN for FBTR obilisation was synthesised by a were determined. was commissioned and Client Server novel process. An argon atmosphere glove box based maintenance management sys- A novel method to correct for assembly was commissioned for car- tem was also implemented. quenching of fluorescence intensities rying out various measurements on Testing of real time computer sys- of metal ions was developed and dem- radioactive & air sensitive com- tem for Lead Mini Plant, the demo onstrated for estimation of uranium pounds. facility for reprocessing of FBTR car- in ppm levels in solutions contain- bide fuel was in progress and will be ing lanthanides and actinides. Nuclear Chemistry commissioned during next year. For the standardisation of a com- The dynamic adsorption coeffi- On-line frictional force measure- mon solvent extraction technique for cients of Krypton and Xenon on acti- ment system for CRDM of FBTR was determining various trace metallic im- vated charcoal were measured and a being developed and tested for imple- purities in uranium oxide, Standard preliminary design of the cover gas mentation. Reference Materials with certified purification system for PFBR was concentrations for many elements completed. Metallurgy and Materials for such as boron, cadmium etc., were FBRs Metallurgy and materials established. Post-Irradiation Studies Technology A flow sheet was developed for the Low Cycle Fatigue (LCF) studies Fuel Chemistry separation of uranium, plutonium, were conducted in air on indigenously Solution Chemistry minor actinides and cesium-137 (Cs- developed modified 9Cr-lMo steel, a A comprehensive programme was 137) from spent fuel solution and candidate material for steam genera- initiated to study the thermodynam- the separation of Cs-137 was demon- tors of FBRs, between 300-923 K. ics of actinide extraction by amides. strated in the hot cells. This yielded Creep properties of modified The kinetics of extraction of a product solution, with significantly 9Cr-lMo base metal and weld joints uranium from nitric acid medium by a reduced gamma dose, which has prepared by shielded metal arc weld- macroporous bifunctional phosphinic enabled to carry out the subsequent ing were assessed between 823 & acid resin was studied and diffusion separation in fumehood. 923 K. coefficients and the activation Four pellets of irradiated fuel of The microstructures of Heat

2.32 Affected Zone (HAZ) in modified nique was employed to evaluate the insulating matrices and these were 9Cr-lMo weld joints were reproduced mechanical properties of titanium- investigated by various methods. by subjecting the base material to aluminum thin films grown on silicon simulated isothermal heat treatments substrates, at nano levels. The role of Post-Irradiation Examination in the range of 1100-1623 K and nitrogen in causing the variations in (PIE) tensile properties were determined at properties were also demonstrated. An irradiation experiment in FBTR various temperatures on base metal as A generalised thermodynamic was undertaken to generate irradiation well as simulated HAZ. equation of state was developed and creep data of indigenously developed Creep-fatigue interaction tests were used in assessing the thermophysical materials such as Zirconium-Niobium carried out on indigenously developed properties of intermetallics. for PHWRs. Zircalloy Pressurised D9 alloy with titanium to carbon A new laser heating method was Capsules (ZPC) encased in stainless ratio of 4, for various conditions. found to be useful in causing localised steel Irradiation Experiment Capsules A comprehensive FCG character- de-sensitisation of austenitic stainless (IEC) were irradiated and taken up isation of 316 LN led to the develop- steels. for PIE. ment of a new FCG equation and Thermodynamic studies were car- The profilometry of four irradiated better description of crack closure ried out to demonstrate the efficacy experimental fuel pins containing dif- phenomenon. of calcia in suppressing the vapour ferent compositions of fuel, discharged Influence of nitrogen and titanium- pressures of fission product com- from FBTR was completed. The carbon ratio on the hot cracking pounds at 1000 deg. K. This data is comparison of this data with the pre- susceptibility of 316 LN and D9 alloy extremely useful in modifying the irradiated data showed that the diam- and also the secondary phases, del- structural concrete and also in devel- eter of the pins have not changed eterious to the weldability were stud- oping coatings for containment of due to irradiation. ied. Indigenous technology for fission products in accidental condi- Determination of the mechanical aluminsing inconel 718 for PFBR tions. properties of the individual regions of steam generator applications was Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) of 2.25Cr- developed. Welding electrodes for Basic Research on Materials lMo weldments by conventional test 316 LN stainless steel were devel- A low field SQUID magnetometer methods poses practical difficulties in oped indigenously, meeting PFBR was assembled and tested success- making test specimens from the small specifications. fully, which has paved the way for the regions of HAZ. Hence, an attempt development of systems for SQUID was made to determine the same by Materials Characterisation applications in materials technology shear-punch test using miniature sized An important process for produc- including NDT. A small angle x-ray specimens. ing electro-catalytic coatings on tita- scattering facility for the study of nium meant for nitric acid application deformation microstructure and Non-destructive Testing and was developed and a process & prod- dispersed nanoparticles in engineer- Evaluation uct patent was filed. ing alloys and other materials, was The Synthetic Aperture Focussing Adhesion of bacterial cells to metal built, based on high intensity rotating Technique (SAFT) was successfully substratum is an important aspect in anode generators. employed for the detection of in- microbiologically influenced corro- Break-down maintenance of clined cracks on test specimens with sion. In a continuing research, evi- sophisticated imported equipment artificial cracks introduced at dif- dences were obtained for preferen- such as the cold box of helium ferent misorientations. tial growth of bacterial colony on liquifier and rotating anode x-ray The magnetic Barkhausen emission samples of Stainless Steel, which generator, was carried out successfully. technique was used to resolve the were heat treated, to make them sus- Investigations on possible coexist- simultaneous variation in grain size and ceptible to inter granular corrosion. ence of superconductivity and ferro- second phase precipitate size during The convergent beam electron dif- magnetism in some systems were car- thermal aging process in carbon steel. fraction technique was used to locate ried out. High pressure X-ray dif- Residual stress measurement of the lattice strain variations in welds and fraction studies on f-electron based bi-metallic transition weld pad of heat affected zones of ferritic steels, di-aluminides were carried out. Ion SS 316LN and 9Cr-lMo, candidate to estimate the residual stresses in implantation techniques were used to materials for PFBR applications, was welds. prepare novel embedded nanoclusters carried out. The atomic force microscopy tech- of silver, copper and aluminum in Methodologies for evaluation of

2.33 structural integrity of tail rotor blades and 16 workstations were operated cal tower was installed and the hourly of helicopters were developed and with more than 98 % of time on round data was archived for carrying out standardised as apart of life extension the clock basis. Six Nos. of xeon based coastal atmospheric studies. programme. Localised corrosion servers and six P II based worksta- damage in IAF air crafts were also tions were under procurement. To Basic Studies in Radiation Physics investigated. augment the Internet services a dedi- and Biology The Department of Science and cated 64 kbps connectivity was estab- A rotating tritium target assembly Technology project on Intelligent Pro- lished from VSNL, in addition to the for the intense pulsed neutron source cessing of Materials (IPM) technol- existing V-SAT. The fibre optic cam- was designed and fabrication pro- ogy was under execution for the pus backbone Network with firewall gressed. development of suitable methodolo- security system was commissioned. An A new thermoluminescent phos- gies for weld related applications and additional 64 kbps internet connec- phor based on calcium sulphate ceramic insulators. tivity was being obtained to take co-doped with silver and rare earth care of the increased load. The cen- element was synthesised, which is Remote Handling and Robotics tral e-mail server was upgraded with capable of measuring radiation doses Design, construction and develop- fault tolerant features. at high ambient temperatures. ment of a Remotely Operated Power The software in ORACLE for Basic radiation biology experi- MANipulator (ROPMAN) with six IGCAR administration functions with ments were continued with radiation degrees of freedom, along with a additional facilities for HRD related exposure of blood samples, espe- gripper, was completed for hot activities was installed and trial use cially from smokers. A new cell applications. The servomotor was in progress. The first phase of the "Sequential Estimation Technique", to controlled motion of the ROPMAN project on "Computer aided hospital estimate uranium, thorium, plutonium facilitates its upgradation to a full- management system" was commis- etc., in urine was undergoing trials. fledged robotic arm. sioned. Development of other soft- An external Pipe Inspection System ware modules for pharmacy, pathol- Radiation Protection (PISys), capable of performing cir- ogy lab etc. were completed and were The Environmental Gamma Dose cumferential and axial scans, was under refinement. Logger, an atmospheric sampler and designed and tendered out for fabrica- Gamma tracer were designed, fabri- tion. Health and Safety Engineering cated and tested. Environmental Radiological Safety Assessment gamma dose are being regularly Innovative Design and Engineering Studies archived and analysed. Experimental work to study the A code to assess the deposition of Radiological surveys were con- compatibility of zirconium alloys with activated corrosion products such as ducted at coastal localities of Tamil sodium was completed. The out-of- cobalt-60 and manganese-54 in the Nadu, where extraction of minerals pile experiments to determine the ther- primary sodium loop of FBTR was from beach sands are being carried mal creep rate of zirconium alloys developed. out. A full-fledged Radon calibration were carried out. Reference defects in The work on the environmental facility was set up at IGCAR for car- the form of notches and holes were impact assessment study for PFBR rying out country-wide radon map- made on the full size coolant tubes was completed. Public hearing on the ping. of PHWR for use as a calibration proposed plant, a pre-requisite for As a part of public awareness standard for eddy current and ultra- necessary clearance, was also in the programme, lectures were given to the sonic testing of the coolant tubes at process of taking up. district officials and school students various nuclear power stations. The aspects such as radioactive (about 1500 persons), on emergency A study was carried out to under- waste, estimated dose for hypotheti- preparedness. 20 Groups of visitors stand the evolution of residual stresses cal Core Disruptive Accident (CDA) from academic institutions were with each weld pass in multi-pass and interfaces with other facilities at briefed on fast reactor programme, welded plates of AISI 304 stainless Kalpakkam were re-examined criti- nuclear safety, radiation protection, steel and low carbon steels. cally for revision of PSAR of nuclear waste management and also PFBR. Also land use classification emergency preparedness. Computer Science studies based on IRS Satellite data Large computer system like ND- were completed. Safety Engineering 560, Super 32/70, SGI system servers A portable 30 metre meteorologi- Parametric computations were 2.34 made, using the two dimensional com- and the titanium electrolytic dis- ers, condensers etc., were re- puter code developed for the assess- solver and titanium piping works ceived at site, while the process ment of the loading on the roof slab were completed. With all the process vessels, which are under fabrication, of the reactor vessel of PFBR under vessels installed, the piping inside the are expected to be delivered soon. The CDA, for varying pressures of Core containment box, is nearing comple- off-gas ducting works were progress- bubbles (10 MPa to 400 MPa) and tion. The in-cell crane reached an ad- ing well and are targeted to be com- cover gas volume in the reactor in the vanced stage of fabrication. The re-, pleted during the financial year. range of 6 % to 25 % of the vessel conversion systems, instrumentation, Detailed piping drawings for the volume, to tailor the experimental control panels etc., were installed and extraction cells were under prepara- programme, for which the test vessel pre-commissioning tests were in tion and the tender for the in-cell was fabricated. progress. The safety and commission- piping was under issuance. The build- All the eight sub banks of the 100 ing reports were under review by ing for the assembly of the Radiation KJ condenser bank were tested for SARCOP and the commissioning tri- Shielding Windows was under con- satisfactory performance. A scale als will begin soon. struction. Revamping of the emer- model of PFBR vessel was fabricated gency electrical power supply system to study the response of the top lid Fast Reactor Fuel Reporcessing progressed. under different simulated energy Plant (FRFRP) release conditions. Various equipment such as the chill- Response of the fuel to slow power levels was being studied out-of-pile A view of Lead Mini Cell electrical heating, in stages. As a part of the sodium concrete interaction studies, test runs with lime- stone concrete & liquid sodium at 500 deg. C were carried out in air and under inert atmosphere. To arrive at a suitable design pressure for the reactor containment building of PFBR, the thermal consequences of Sodium fires due to the CDA were analysed using computer codes. To study the heat removal capability of the core catcher proposed for PFBR, through natural convection under core melt down scenario, water simulated scaled down (1:4) model was designed and procurement action was initiated. Safety surveillance inspections were carried out in all the facilities at IGCAR and BARC Facilities. Programmes on Safety education, first aid training, fire squad training etc., were organised.

Fuel Reprocessing Lead Mini Cell The Lead Mini Cell (LMC), a demonstration facility for reprocessing of FBTR fuel on laboratory scale was in an advanced stage of completion 2.35 Uranium-233 Extraction Plant aging studies was nearing comple- Internal electrification works were Hot commissioning works related tion. Radiometric studies for devel- in progress in Anupuram. Arrange- to the second campaign of Uranium- opment of high density and high tem- ments were made to establish main and 233 extraction from thorium rods were perature concrete were in progress. distribution substations for providing completed. A few rods were dis- Civil works related to BARC facili- power supply. solved and U-233 was extracted and ties such as CWMF, NDDP and WIP converted to oxide form. located at Kalpakkam and aided insti- Quality Engineering tutions such as Mehta Research Insti- Quality Assurance, Non-Destruc- R & D Activities tute, Allahabad and Tata Institute of tive Testing Services and Quality A separate R & D facility for car- . Fundamental Research, Bangalore Audit were provided for various rying out the various engineering and were also progressing well. projects related activities such as process related to developments was The construction of 112 quarters at FRFRP, Technology Development for nearing completion. Many of the Anupuram will soon be completed. As PFBR, Sodium-Water reaction test instruments for the measurement of a part of the "Housing and infrastruc- rig, Boron Enrichment Plant, manu- physical property for reprocessing ture development" project of the IX facture of CRDMs for FBTR etc., for stream were procured and the instal- Plan, external electrification, sewer IGCAR and also for other units of lation was being taken up. lines, road works etc., progressed well. DAE such as HWP(M), TAPS, etc., A newly developed 16-stage ejec- Twelve nos. out of 102 quarters Participation was made in the for- tor mixer settler was used to conduct reached completion and the balance mulation of a draft quality assurance the Uranium-Thorium flow sheet runs work continued. manual and the action plan for obtain- and the results were found to be A comprehensive software in ing ISO 9000 for PFBR design. encouraging. Visual Basic, for monitoring of all the projects handled by CEG was devel- 1. Annular Tank/Tube Rolling of Heat Engineering and Technical oped and it was under implementa- Exchanger Assembly Services Civil Engineering tion. Development of a "Contracts 2. An over view of Heat Exchanger The civil works related to the IX management system" was also taken 3. Sodium Storage Tank : Main body Plan, such as Structural Mechanics up. shell welding under progress Laboratory, Centralised measurement standards and calibration facility, Engineering Services Substation for SGTF, Quality engi- All the electrical, air-conditioning neering Services and Test facility, & ventilation and communication Mechanical maintenance & vibration systems were being operated and building, Main security building, com- maintained. Also, improvements were pound wall and widening of roads, carried out in the end terminations were completed. The buildings for mi- of 11 kV cables. cro-machining and assembly facility, Electrical and air-conditioning remote handling & radiography and works made progress for the IX Plan SGTF were in progress. projects activities related to QUEST, Construction of diesel generator Main security building, Vibration & building & trenches and the building Mechanical Laboratory, Structural for pickling & passivation of SS com- Mechanics laboratory etc., which are ponents for FRFRP were completed. expected to be completed soon. Pro- The construction of radiation glass curement of Substation equipment assembly shop and the false ceiling and internal electrification for SGTF works were progressing well as per were in progress. Specification for schedule. A/c works of other facilities were Soil investigation and 90 metre under preparation. bore hole depth studies were com- Sodium vapour lamps were intro- pleted for PFBR site. Documents duced in place of Fluorescent lamps required for site evaluation of PFBR for better illuminations and saving were submitted to AERB. Develop- in energy consumptions. Communi- ment of special concrete for thermal cations system was also improved. 2.36 continued on page 2.44 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

ACCELERATOR PROGRAMME CENTRE INDUS-1 INDUS-I, the first Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS) in India, reached a FOR current of 160 mA on 28 July 1999. This current exceeded the design value of ADVANCED 100 mA by 60%. With the realization of INDUS-I, India has joined the select band of about a dozen countries who have the capability to design and construct TECHNOLOGY such complex accelerators. INDUS-I consists of three accelerators namely a 20 MeV microtron, a 450 MeV booster synchrotron and 450MeV storage ring. All the three accelerators including their subsystems, have been indigenously designed and developed. The subsystems include ultra high vacuum (UHV) system capable of achieving advanced pressures lower than 1010torr, high power vacuum pumps, microwave sources with components such as high power water load, high power cou- plers etc., and large electromagnets of various types. With the 100 mA current stored in INDUS-I, the current reduces to half its value in about one hour. With time, the vacuum inside the chamber of INDUS- I ring will improve and the beam lifetime will increase. The synchrotron radiation emitted by the electrons circulating in the storage ring is in the form of an intense narrow fan shaped beam. This radiation covers a large spectrum extending from far infrared to vacuum ultraviolet (upto 20 A0). Further, the synchrotron radiation as seen in a fixed direction, is in pulses of 1-2 ns (nanosecond) duration. These properties make Synchrotron Radiation a powerful tool of research in wide-ranging areas of science and technology. Five of the total nine beamlines for various applications of synchrotron radiation, have been designed and constructed by CAT, BARC and Inter-Uni- versity Consortium for DAE facilities (IUC-DAEF). These beamlines have been designed for high resolution spectroscopy, photoelectron spectroscopy, soft x-ray spectroscopy and photophysics. The photophysics beam line which Synchrotron light monitored covers wavelength range 900-2000 A0, is a low resolution and high flux beam at Indus-1 during its line, and is useful for time resolved spectroscopy, life time studies etc. The high commissioning resolution spectroscopy (HRS) requires wavelength range 400-2000 A0 and is useful for HRS of atoms, molecules, auto-ionization etc. A metrology beam line is designed to calibrate various sources, detectors, spectrometers in the entire VUV and X-ray range (20-2000 A0) of wavelengths. The synchrotron radiation from Indus-1 beam line, in the range 20-50 A0 wavelength can also be used for lithography in integrated circuit (IC) semiconductor industry.

2.37 The 450 MeVINDUS-I- the first Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS) in India, reached a current of 160 mA on 28 July 1999. This current exceeded the design value of 100 mA by 60%. India has now joined the select band of about a dozen countries who have the capability to design and construct such complex accelerators

Some of the beamlines are expected ergy of 2.5 GeV, has been designed which can be reduced to 0.05nm with to be available for experiments shortly, to produce highly bright X- rays, with insertion devices like a 5 Tesla wig- thus providing Indian scientists access critical wavelength around 0.20 nm gler. Theoretical design for INDUS-2 to one of the modern tools of research. CAT has developed some of the Metrology beam line oflndus-l precision components of the synchrotron radiation beamlines. These include mechanical systems capable of mov- ing and rotating laser mirrors in UHV within 10 micron and 5 arc-sec accuracy, and electron beam deposition systems for multilayer mirrors. The civil construction with concrete shielding structures for industrial and medical accelerators has also been completed.

INDUS-2 The electron storage ring of the synchrotron radiation source INDUS-2, with nominal operating electron en-

2.38 by beam dynamics has been completed. The design of vacuum chamber of Indus-2 is very complex and critical job, because of the excessive heat produced due to electrical power dissipation in the equipment and devices in the INDUS-2 Tunnel, and also due to large electron/x-ray bombardment on the chamber by synchrotron and bremstrahlung radiation around the ring. Design of this vacuum chamber has been completed and fabrication is started in HAL, Nasik. The.LCW Plant building and the civil construction of shielded circular tunnel where INDUS-2 ring will be housed, has been completed.

LASER PROGRAMME Nd:phosphate Glass Laser Chain High power pulsed Ndrglass lasers delivering a peak power of tens to hun- dreds of gigawatts are widely used for a variety of scientific investigations such as intense x-ray generation, laser- plasma interaction, nonlinear optical frequency conversion etc. A MOPA (Master Oscillator Power Amplifier) based Nd.phosphate glass laser chain delivering 100 GW. 25 ps (FWHM) laser pulses (wavelength =1.054 micrometre) has been set up for laser- plasma interaction studies. The laser chain consists of a mode- locked Nd:YLF oscillator, an electro- optic pulse selector, fourNd:phosphate glass amplifiers, three spatial filter- cum-image relay systems, a Faraday ZeCl excimer laser developed at CAT The laser can be used for applications isolator, and a Faraday rotator. such as drilling an array of holes of size 20-100 micron in plastic, pulsed laser A laser energy of 2.5 J is obtained deposition of thin films, annealing of semiconductor thin films and generation of after the last amplifier stage. The pulse grating structures duration measured by a non-collinear second harmonic generation based Below: PulsedNd: YAG laser with second harmonic generation, installed at auto-correlator and an optical S-l streak Syrian Atomic Energy Commission camera is -25 ps, giving a peak power of 100 GW. The laser beam divergence is measured to be 175 microrad so that a peak laser intensity of 1.6x1015 W/ cm2 is achieved on the target. The laser chain is being used for laser plasma

2.39 Nitrogen laser being used in diagnosis of cancer of various organs by the A patient undergoing diagnosis of cancer of oral study of laser induced fluorescence of tissues cavity interaction studies in high intensity Biomedical laser applications probe, developed in-house is a flex- short pulse regime. Applications of N2 lasers in diag- ible fibre bundle, consisting of a single nosis of certain types of cancer, have quartz fiber (NA 0.22, core diameter XeCI Excimer Laser yielded confirmatory results. Laser 400 micro metre) surrounded by six A XeCI excimer laser has been induced fluorescence studies of tis- similar quartz fibres type. The cen- developed having output energy of sues, resected during surgery or bi- tral fibre carries the nitrogen laser 50 mJ, prf 30 Hz, pulse duration opsy from patients with cancer of oral beam and the six fibres surrounding it 15 ns, beam size 15x8 mm2 and gas cavity, breast or uterus, have provided pick up the fluorescence for recording life time of 5x105 shots. The laser sys- very distinct signatures from those of its spectrum. One of the systems is tem consists of the laser head, centrifu- normal tissues, after involved com- being used for diagnosis of cancer of gal blower and a magnetic drive for puter analysis. For clinical use two oral cavity. Studies carried out on 25 the blower. The discharge assembly in prototype equipment consisting of a patients have already provided very the laser head consists of a Ernst pro- CAT-built N2 laser (7 ns, 100 micro encouraging results. Other system has filed ground electrode and a cylindri- Joule, 10 Hz), an optical fiber probe, been installed at a local cancer scan- cal high voltage electrode. The high and a gateable intensified CCD detec- ning centre for diagnosis of cancer of voltage electrode has provision for in- tor has been built. The diagnostic uterus cervix. Studies on resected tis- corporating preionization pins. Two sues were continued. A model was The expander part of a single stage flow homogenisers at either side of the cryocooler developed at CAT. The also developed to simulate the varia- discharge ensure uniform flow of gas portion of vacuum jacket has been tion of fluorescence anisotropy as a between the electrodes. The gas flow removed to show the cold tip function of tissue thickness. N2 laser at the outlet of the blower is through a irradiation of red blood cells were ob- 2-inch diameter circular pipe. How- served to result in oxidation of hae- ever, the flow between the electrodes moglobin. is in the form of a sheet with a cross- 2 section area of 500x15 mm . The flow Pulsed Laser Deposition Facility homogenisers accomplishes this flow A Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) conversion in a compact fashion with facility has been set up at the Cente reasonable pressure drop. In the final incorporating Q-switched Nd.YAG form, the laser can be used for appli- laser. Using this setup, thin films of cations such as drilling an array of wide band gap semiconductors of holes of size 20-100 micron in plastic, ZnSe and ZnO have been grown. Cur- pulsed laser deposition of thin films, rently there is considerable interest in annealing of semiconductor thin films the development of technology of and generation of grating structures. semiconductor lasers and other photo-

2.40 nic devices in UV-Blue spectral range Properties of Bose-Einstein con- this laser has energy 300 mJ, spot di- using these semiconductor materials. densates were studied theoretically. A ameter 5 mm, divergence 0.85 mrad, ZnSe, having a direct band gap of-2.7 simple variational wave function was pulse width 6 ns, peakpower 50 MW eV emits in blue-green region and proposed to describe the ground state and pulse repetition frequency of 10 ZnO, with direct band gap of ~3.3 eV, and vortex states of a system of weakly Hz. Similar lasers have been supplied in UV region. Nanoparticle layers of interacting Bose gas in an anisotropic to IIT, Madras, IGCAR, Nagpur Uni- semiconductors such as GaSb, InAs trap. The proposed wave function is versity etc.

and metals like Cu, Fe in A12O3 matri- valid for a wide range of the particle Surgical CO2 laser systems were ces have also been grown. Using numbers in the trap. It also works well supplied to a hospital at Guwahati and CAT'S PLD Facility collaborative work in the case of attractive interaction be- to AIIMS, New Delhi. A high power is being done with the Inter University tween the atoms. Further, it provides 2.5 kW CO2 laser system was deliv- Consortium (IUC), Indore; IIT. Madras an easy and fast method to calculate ered to Jadhavpur University for and IIT, Mumbai on the frontline re- various physical quantities of interest. material processing. Laser processing search in material science. The results compare very well with being non-contact method, can cut the those obtained by purely numerical hardest material with ease. techniques. For the first time, the predi- Cryogenics One 500 Watt multi-beam CO2 la- A three stage closed cycle cated behaviour of aspect ratio has ser system has been supplied to M/s. cryocooler has been developed at CAT. been verified. Hindusthan Laser Ltd., Kodaikanal for This is based on Gifford McMahon sealing thermometer tubes. Cycle. This cryocooler is producing a Development of Laser Materials A prototype N2 laser induced fluo- lowest temperature of 6.5 Kelvin. Fabrication of a facility for mak- rescence based system for cancer di- A two stage cryocooler producing a ing ferroelectric oxide films by the agnosis is installed at Cancer Screen- lowest temperature of 10 K and a alkoxide based sol-gel spin-coating ing Centre at Indore. single stage cryocooler producing a technique, has been completed. The Two laser fluorimeters have been lowest temperature of 30 K, developed facility consists of essentially two parts installed at AMD, Tata Nagar and earlier, are at present undergoing test- : (1) High purity mixed alkoxide pre- Health Physics Unit, RAPP at Kota, ing. These have completed more than cursor synthesis assembly. (2) Inert respectively. 2000 hours and 500 hours respectively. atmosphere thin film fabrication glove box. The unit can be used for coating Nonlinear Optics ferroelectric film over (upto) 50mm Optical limiting response of several diameter substrates in 0 - 6000 rpm organic materials was studied. These range. studies included carbon black suspen- Large crystals of KDP & DKDP sion and single-walled carbon upto 40x40x200 mm3 have been nanotubes. Experiments with 532 nm, grown with indigeneons equipment. 15 nsec duration laser pulses showed Such crystals are then oriented and cut that optical limiting in the nanotubes for Electro-optical and harmonic-gen- suspension occurs mainly due to non- eration applications. These are sup- linear scattering. The observed host liq- plied within CAT and elsewhere. uid dependence of optical limiting in A home made facility was estab- different host liquids suggested that the lished for chemical vapour deposition scattering originated from micro- for developing transparent ceramic bubbles formed due to absorption-in- plates of strategically important mate- duced heating. Optical limiting perfor- rial Zinc sulphide, grown on graphite mance of carbon black suspension was substrate. found to be degraded at high laser repetition rates confirming that the limit- Lasers/instruments supplied ing mechanism involves loss of the A pulsed Nd:YAG laser with sec- carbon particles due to vaporization. ond harmonic generation was devel- The degradation was more severe in oped and installed at Syrian Atomic suspensions with higher viscosity. Energy Commission. The beam from

2.41 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Superconducting Cyclotron VARIABLE The R&D project of constructing a Superconducting Cyclotron made a sig- ENERGY nificant progress. Construction of the cyclotron building was going on as per schedule. Fabrication of the major components of the accelerator continued. CYCLOTRON The developmental activities for ECR source, beam line and computer based control were also initiated. CENTRE Ultrasonic testing of all the forgings for the main magnet frame being fabricated by M/s. HEC, Ranchi was completed, and machining of various parts continued. The superconducting coil winding setup was ready for test. Different components for the RF cavity were under fabrication. Con- tract for the cryostat was awarded to M/s. Air Liquide, France. Detailed fabrication plan was under process. Pile foundation work for the Superconducting Cyclotron building was completed; Escavation was in full swing, and Tenders for the super structure of Superconducting Cyclotron and for the 30 ton EOT crane were initiated. Development work on highly stabilised prototype power supplies for magnets and trim coils continued. The R&D work for computer control of the power supplies advanced significantly. Material for fabricating the superconducting cable was procured by BARC, and detailed planning for the fabrication continued. Prototype fabrication for RF electronic units also progressed. The Liquid Helium Plant at M/s. Air Liquide, France was fabricated, inspected and delivered at VECC . Purchase order for fabricating the magnetic field mapping jig was placed. The first design of the 14.5 GHz ECR source was finalised and procurement of crucial components advanced. Design and construction of the complex cryogenic distribution system was taken up. Complete technology for designing and constructing cryogenic transfer lines was developed indigenously. Detailed design of the entire system was completed. Sections of unshielded cryogenic transfer lines were fabricated and development of a prototype shielded cryogenic transfer line section reached an advanced stage of completion.

Heavy Ion Acceleration A patient undergoing treatment for The work for the upgradation of the present cyclotron with ECR heavy ion cancer using 4MeV LIN AC source developed in-house, was almost complete. The Heavy Ion Acceleration atRRMC, Calcutta programme at VECC resulted in the first heavy ion beams beyond 6 MeV/nucleon, in the country. First beams of 115 MeV Oxygen and 150 MeV Neon were extracted with currents over 50 nA. Even 200 MeV Oxygen was accelerated. In the next stage it is planned to increase the mass and energy range. The Vacuum level in the cyclotron was improved significantly for efficient acceleration of heavy ions from the ECR source. The cryopanel was designed , fabricated and installed in the 'dee' chamber. Using this device , the pressure was reduced to 1.1 x lO^torr. Anew versatile multiply-charged heavy ion source was being

2.42 procured and likely to be commis- table helium extraction system was fab- of the evaporated neutrons were cal- sioned during 2000. ricated and installed at the site. Helium culated and compared with the respec- was extracted from air to a purity of tive experimental data over a wide Radioactive Ion Beam Project >99%. A larger heat exchanger, built range of excitation energy and com- A Radioactive Ion Beam (RIB) to enhance scale of separation, was un- pound nuclear mass. facility is being built at the Centre in dergoing laboratory tests. The low-lying excitation spectra collaboration with Saha Institute of of Be and O were calculated on the Nuclear Physics (SESTP), Calcutta and Computer and Information basis of particle-vibration coupling with RIKEN, Japan. Considering the Technology model. Experimentally observed highly technological requirements of Compus-wide networking was com- parity inversion of the ground state the project particularly in the areas of pleted and Firewall software was in- and first excited state of Be was mechanical and radio-frequency engi- stalled to ensure network security. A reproduced. neering, VECC entered into collabo- personnel database was also imple- Langevin equation was employed to rative ventures with SAMEER and mented which was used to fabricate the describe nuclear fission dynamics at CMERI. medical cards (CHSS) for all the DAE high excitation energies. Most of the systems / subsystems employees in Calcutta. An exercise Stochastic resonance was explained were either in the fabrication stage or was carried out for Y2K readiness / as a maximum synchronization ready for the start of assembly. The compliance of computers and com- between deterministic periodic signal R&D activities on some of the systems puter-based systems. Research contin- and noise. A formula for 'First Pas- were underway and the final design re- ued in the fields of fuzzy database, neu- sage Time Density Function' at reso- quirements would be frozen shortly. ral network application and image pro- nance for simple dissipative transport The procurement actions for most of cessing. Work progressed for the de- process was derived in terms of two the major equipment to be imported velopment of fuzzy based control and universal functions. were initiated. The fabrication of the the data acquisition system for heavy In a second order chiral phase tran- two-ion-source assembly, including the ion experiment. sition, the chiral condensate can surface-ioniser, einzel lenses, decelera- become temporarily disoriented devel- tors etc., was completed and taken to Heavy Ion Experimental Facilities oping domain like structure. The effect RIKEN, Japan for testing. Improve- For the use of heavy ion beams of dissipation and noise on the domain ments on the design were in progress. from the upgraded VEC machine, formation was studied. The coil-winding for the ECR-sole- building of the two facilities for high The collision of heavy ions at rela- noids were over and coil-winding for energy gamma ray spectrometry, and tivistic energies is expected to form of quadrupoles for beam-lines were near- the compact CsI(Tl)-PIN photodiode quark- gluon- plasma. Various signa- ing completion. Final drawings for the based charge particle multiplicity fil- tures of this phase-transition were ECR plasma chamber and the RFQ ter array were taken up during IXth studied. cold model were given to CMERI for plan. Tests of prototype detector ele- In a study related to the evolution fabrication. Order for the procurement ments were successfully completed and of early universe it was shown that of a high power RF transmitter for the basic design parameters of the ar- quark-nuggets rich in strange matter RFQ was placed and the development ray were frozen. The procurement of might have survived till now and con- of low-power part of the RF transmit- the CsI(Tl) crystals, compatible pho- tributed to dark matter. The formation ter was progressing in collaboration todiodes, HAMAMATSU Model and evolution of disoriented chiral with SAMEER. SI709 and hybrid preamplifier chips condensates in such collisions was were completed and R&D activities studied. Recovery and Analysis of Helium commenced. Propagation of heavy quarks in from Hot Springs The other detector system, pro- equilibrating quark gluon plasma was At certain locations around posed to be set up, would be an array probed. The chemical equilibration of Bakreswar, investigations conducted of BaF2 detectors. expanding quark - gluon - plasma was revealed an out-flux of large scale studied and reliable predictions made helium. A similar feature was observed Theoretical Physics Research for electromagnetic radiations at RHIC in many areas adjacent to Dumka Dis- The dynamics of fission was and LHC energies. trict in Bihar. formulated and the precession neutron A parton cascade / cluster For experimental purpose, a por- multiplicities and mean kinetic energies hadronization model was developed

2.43 which attempts to describe nucleus- Search for Quark - Gluon - Capital Projects of IGCAR was imple- nucleus collision at relativistic energies. Plasma mented for the preparation of Revised A first ever estimate of the colour (a) SPS experiments & Budget Estimates. A system for Debye screening was obtained using The data of the WA98 experiment, classification of expenditure for the this model. conducted earlier at the CERN SPS Capital and Revenue budget of The radiation of single photons accelerator was analysed. IGCAR was developed and imple- from relativistic heavy ion collisions mented as feed back information and was investigated. (b) ALICE experiment at the Large also as a MIS. Hardon Colliders The complete indents database at Experimental Nuclear Physics The Indian team proposed to con- MRPU was replicated at IGCAR and Nuclear spectroscopy of near- tribute a totally indigenous Photon updated daily and feed back informa- spherical Pm-nuclei in the mass-140 Multiplying Detector (PMD ) to the tion was made available to the users region: ALICE experiment at the LHC. The at Kalpakkam. The high spin states of odd-odd PMD will be a special type of gas de- LANs for the Purchase Unit and 142Pm and odd-A I43Pm were investi- tector based on honeycomb propor- Management Services, IGCAR were gated by in-beam gamma spectroscopy. tional chambers. The R & D for this being established. An experiment was performed at the design was almost completed and a All the systems developed and BARC-TIFR Pelletron and the pro- Technical Design Report for the PMD implemented at MPRU and IGCAR posed high spin level structure for was submitted to the LHC Experi- for Purchase and Project Monitoring 143Pm was tested by a modest shell ments Committee at CERN. were made Y2K compliant. model calculation using OXBASH code. Regional Radiation Medicine Central Workshop Centre (RRMC) The major works carried out by the Decay mechanism of light hot The 4 MeV Medical LINAC per- Central Workshop during the year composite nuclei produced by heavy formed satisfactorily and more than were: ion collision: 7000 patient-exposures were taken - Machining, fabrication and as- Detailed measurements of light during the year 1999. Apart from sembly of Lower part assembly of the charged particle spectra (for both pro- therapy work, scanning facility of vari- Control Rod Drive Mechanism for ton and alpha particles) were under- ous organs to more than 1000 patients, FBTR; Failed Fuel Identification Mod- taken and analysis progressed. and radioimmuno assay (T3, T4, TSH) ule for PFBR; Annular tanks for fuel facility to more than 5000 patients reprocessing; Heat exchanger for Material Science Research were provided. A proposal was made sodium loop; a large size Sodium stor- Research and Development ac- to set up Radio iodine therapy for thy- age tank for Steam Generator Test tivities on High Temperature roid cancer at RRMC, Thakurpukur. Facility , and PFBR main vessel for Cuprate Superconductors based on core disruptive accident analysis and YBaCuO and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-0 systems continued from page 2.36 others. were pursued. Using the Variable A Quality Engineering Services and -Development of dissimilar metal Energy Cyclotron, irradiation induced Testing Facility was being augmented joining between copper and stainless enhancement of critical temperature with equipment for inspection, destruc- steel plate for electromagnetic pump Tc and Critical Current density as a tive & Non-destructive testing ser- duct in collaboration with DRDL, function of irradiation dose were vices to cater to the requirements of Hyderabad. thoroughly studied. R & D and other engineering projects - Repair welding of cracked turbine Studies were undertaken with the related to PFBR. blade and shroud for MAPS and motivation of evaluation of radiation NAPS. damage of nuclear structural materi- Management Services als like Zirconium and its alloys, and The Purchase Management System Stainless Steel (AISI316 SS). was implemented under ORACLE environment at Madras Regional Pur- chase Unit (MRPU), upto release of Puchase Orders. A sophisticated Bud- get management system for all the

2.44 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) of ATOMIC the DAE carries out surveys, prospecting and exploration of atomic minerals required for the Nuclear Power Programme of the country. The R&D oriented MINERALS activities of the Directorate include assessment, evaluation, characterisation, DIRECTORATE and categorisation of atomic minerals, design and fabrication of radiometric instruments and development of ore extraction flow sheets. Brief account of FOR activities and achievements during 1999-2000 are given below:

EXPLORATION Uranium Investigations Surveys AND The Airborne Gamma-Ray Spectrometric (AGRS) and aeromagnetic sur- RESEARCH veys were carried out over about 24,000 line kilometres, in parts of Bhima basin, Karnataka and Vindhyan basin, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These surveys corroborated the earlier located anomalies. However, magnetic surveys integrated with remote sensing data helped in delineating favourable areas and narrowing down target areas for further exploration. Satellite data interpretation, digital image processing, photogeological studies, data integration and critical studies on various potential areas were also carried out. Radiometric reconnaissance and detailed surveys were carried out in various geologically and structurally favourable areas over 12,800 sq km and 275 sq km respectively. These surveys resulted in locating / delineating new uranium anomalies and extensions of known anomalies in Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. Geophysical surveys comprising magnetic, electrical (IP and SP) and electro magnetic (TURAM) methods were carried out in selected areas of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. These surveys have helped in narrowing down target areas. IP/Resistivity surveys deciphered concealed sediment basement contact at Gogi, Gulbarga district, Karnataka Split core from a bore hole ofGogi, where exploratory drilling was in progress. A borehole drilled based on geo- Gulbarga District, Karnataka along with physical anomaly intercepted good grade mineralisation. chromogram test. The brown patches on Gravity and magnetic surveys resulted in delineating gravity and magnetic the chromogram paper are due to the anomalies and NNE-SSW and N-S lineaments around Julakallu - Venkatapuram presence of uranium minerals. in Palvadu sub-basin, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. (Right): Uranium mineralisation IP/Resistivity surveys resulted in delineating high chargeabiltiy zone coin- associated with sandstone of Solan ciding with known sulphide and uranium mineralisation, and EM (TURAM) District of Himachal Pradesh survey deciphered fracture zones at Chhota-Udaipur, Ajmer district, Rajasthan.

2.45 Geochemical surveys (water, soil Gumla district, Bihar. Laboratory Investigations and stream sediments) were carried out Detailed evaluation of known Laboratories under Physics, over 7000 sq km in different parts of pegmatites was carried out and addi- Chemistry, Mineralogy-Petrology- the country. These have helped in nar- tional reserves of 7.60 tonnes of Geochemistry and Mineral Technology rowing down the target areas in parts columbite were estimated. Additional Groups, equipped with state of the art of Cuddapah, Kurnool, Nellur and reserves of 220 tonnes of xenotime instruments, provided analytical Chittoor districts of Andhra Pradesh. bearing polymineralic concentrate support for- the field investigations. Anomalous haloes were delineated were estimated from riverine placers Activities included: around Bodevandlapalle in Cuddapah of Gumla district, Bihar. - Analytical and instrumental sup- district and Gajulapalle in Kurnool Upgradation of xenotime bearing port e.g. radiometric assay of surface district. pre-concentrate produced from Siri and borehole core samples (28900 River, Raigarh district, Madhya Nos.), gamma-ray logging of bore- Exploratory Drilling Pradesh using improved flowsheet has holes (36700 m), radiometric check- Exploratory drilling aggregating to resulted in recovery of xenotime con- ing by shielded probe (1600 m), ra- 28,000 metre has been carried out to centrate analysing over 22 % yttrium don emanometry and repairs / calibra- probe / delineate the subsurface conti- oxide. Four recovery units located in tion of field instruments. Mass spec- nuity of uranium mineralisation in dif- Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa trometric analysis of over 260 samples ferent promising sectors. Continuity of produced 41.80 tonnes of xenotime and sulphur isotope studies of about ore grade uranium mineralisation bearing concentrate, 3.37 tonnes of 40 samples were carried out. (>0.10%) was established over consid- columbite- tantalite and 3.40 tonnes of - Low altitude data was acquired by erable strike length (>500 m) at Gogi, Beryl. indigenously fabricated notebook PC Gulbarga district, Karnataka and based AGRS system over Bhima and Koppunuru, Guntur district, Andhra Beach Sand and Off-shore Vindhyan basins. Six portable gamma Pradesh. Uranium mineralisation with Investigations ray spectrometers were also fabricated. grade less than 0.10% U3O8, was also Assessment and evaluation of - Analysis of 11600 samples of intercepted at Ghateshwar, Sikar dis- heavy mineral deposits along coastal water, soil, stream sediments, rock, trict, Rajasthan; Peddagattu, Nalgonda tracts in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu mineral, ore and beneficiation products district, Andhra Pradesh; Wahkyn, and Kerala was continued. involving about 72,000 determina- West Khasi Hills district, Meghalaya; A new heavy mineral potential zone tions. Analytical support was also ex- Naktu and Kudri, Sonbhadra district, with 25-30% Total Heavy Mineral tended to IREL, GSI and other Uttar Pradesh and Surda, Singhbhum (THM) content was located along organisations. Research and develop- district, Bihar. coastal stretch of Nizamapatnam- ment were continued for refinement of Additional uranium reserves of Adavuladevi in Krishna and Guntur analytical techniques. U3Og were estimated at Wahkyn, districts, Andhra Pradesh. Another - A total of 2900 mineral analy- Meghalaya under inferred category. zone was delineated in hinterland, of ses (45200 elemental determina- As a result of infilling core drilling Thotapalli-Ambalapuzha area, Alla- tions) were carried out by the Elec- in different blocks of Peddagattu area puzha district, Kerala. tron Microprobe laboratory. Samples of Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, Reports /executive summaries on studied include ore minerals of U, Th, part of the earlier estimated inferred different heavy mineral deposits were rare metals and rare earths; and tho- category reserves was converted to prepared and supplied to IREL and pri- rium oxide pellets of NFC. indicated category. vate agencies. - A total of 332 samples were Export consignments of over studied for identification of different Rare Metal and Rare Earth 1,27,500 metric tonnes of garnet sands uranium, rare metal and rare earth Investigations pertaining to private agencies, over bearing minerals and measurement of Riverine placers, containing signifi- 1,08,600 metric tonnes of ilmenite and unit cell parameters of a few of them. cant concentration of xenotime (ore 875 tonnes of sillimanite pertaining to Samples from the CCCM, BARC, mineral of Heavy Rare Earth Ele- IREL were sampled for issuance of IREL, and ODS and that of BHEL ments), were delineated in parts of monazite test certificate. were also investigated. Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh and Petromineralogical studies on about

2.46 PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES OF AMD (TARGETS AND ACHIEVEMENTS) sqtart/m sqkm ou.uuu

Uranium Investigations Uranium Investigations 300 40,000

250 30,000 • 1 200 |M| Line km 20,000 • 150 | 100 1 10,000 II 50 1 n n aHpfirt ...i , Rec.Survey Gchem. Sur. Drilling AGRS Sur. Det. Survey Gphy. Survey •

sqkm 2,000 Production of Atomic Minerals Other Investigations 40,000 1,500 L 30,000 1,000 I 20,000

500 1 10,000 1 r. M am n H.Min. Survey RWIRE Survey Xenotime Nb-Ta Minerals Beryl

TARGETS 1999-2000 ACHIEVEMENTS 1999-2000 TARGETS2000-2001

2.47 extension block, IREL, were approved ATOMIC MINERALS after scrutiny. MAP OF INDIA y t**ilj ftI'.A P s Resource Generation Revenue amounting over Rs.73 lakh was earned by providing technical and professional services to various organisations and sale of columbite-tantalite to NFC. 22% of the earnings was from Non-DAE units like HZL, TATA, etc. and exporters of mineral sands.

Research and Development Following R&D activities were carried out: - Determination of Au, Pd, Pt and Rh in rocks, ores, concentrate URANIUM % MOBiuM-TAS'T, and sulfide-float samples by ICP- & LITHIUM AES/FAAS after reductive co-precipi- A fiERYLUUM • XENOJ'iME i tation using Se - as collector. - Estimation of trace impurities in /•/ SEi'.CH AND INLAND 10 // PLACER MINf.PAUS reactor grade uranium using ICP- flr^tXC, 2IRCONI Q UMflWUf/ ASSOCIATED AES. j WITH PHOSPHORITES 1 * fi,MD, Hfi ADOUART£RJs - Determination of W in Nb, Ta, V and Mo bearing geological samples using derivative spectrophotometry 2250 rock samples from various Other Activities and ICCP-AES.. deposits / occurrences of atomic min- Geotechnical Investigations - Solvent extraction of Ga, In and erals, were carried out in the petrol- Geological mapping of the pits Ti in geological materials. ogy laboratories. Petrological stud- of the reactor' building (RB-3 &RB- - Sorption of PAR - metal com- ies related to geotechnical studies 4) of Tarapur Atomic Power Project plexes on activated carbon, as a rapid were also carried out. (TAPP) was carried out and reports preconcentration method for the deter- - A total of 3030 samples involv- submitted to Nuclear Power Corpora- mination of Ce, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb and ing 51,270 determinations were tion of India Limited (NPCIL). V in ground water. analysed for quantitative measure- Reports on (a) Satellite Image in- - Determination of REE and Y in ments of different elements in the terpretation and seismotectonic stud- rocks by ICP-AES after solvent extrac- X-ray Fluorescence laboratories, ies around Kalpakkam and (b) tion separation. whereas 2590 samples and standards lithomorpho-tectonic evolution of -Rapid laser fluorimetricmethod involving 75,900 determinations were Sankara-Sanawara Region of for the determination of uranium in studied in the spectrograph laborato- Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan were pre- soil, ultrabasic rock, plant ash, fly-ash ries. pared and submitted. and red-mud samples. -Hydrometallurgical charac- - Spectrophotometric determina- terisations of host rocks from Mining Plan Approval tion of submicrogram amount of in different uranium deposits / occur- Scrutiny of mining plans in respect the anionic micellar medium of sodium rences and development of flow sheets of atomic minerals was continued as dodecylsulphate. for the recovery of rare metals were per the provisions of Mines and continued by Mineral Technology Minerals (Regulations and Develop- laboratory. ment) Act, 1957. Two mining plans, one each in respect of Orissa Sand Complex (OSCOM) and Chavara

2.48 PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS

NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS IN OPERATION NUCLEAR Power Generation POWER There are a total often nuclear power reactor units under commercial operation with a total installed capacity of 1840 MWe. One 220 MWe reactor unit at CORPORATION Kaiga (Kaiga-2) has been synchronised to the grid on December 2, 1999. The unit would be declared commercial this year. Another unit of 220 MWe capac- OF INDIA ity at Rajasthan (RAPP-3) has also achieved criticality on December 24, 1999 and would be synchronised to the grid in the near future. LTD. NPCIL has generated 1,32,264 MUs since commencement of commercial operation of its units till end of December 1999. RAPS-1, which is owned by the Department, has generated 10,275 MUs upto December 1999 since its commercial operation. The gross power generation by the Indian Nuclear Power Stations since 1969, is shown in the graph. The company has improved its operating performance from an overall capacity factor of 47% in 1994-

Gross Power Generation by Indian Nuclear Power Stations since 1969 95 to 75% in 1998-99 (exclud-

MittttHt Units (MUs) ing RAPS-1). Total dross Generation from 1969 to date is about 146 Jttttion Vntta Generation ikmvnfor 1999-20/10 n uplo February 2000 The gross generation during Targetfor 1999-2000 « 10980 MV; the calendar year 1999 was 12,045 MUs. This excludes generation from RAPS-1, which was 964 MUs. The company achieved a capacity factor of 78%, registering a gross generation of 9,024 MUs for the period from 1.4.1999 to 31.12.1999 in the financial year 1999-2000. RAPS-1 generated 679 MUs during this period.

Gross Power Generation by the Indian Nuclear Power Stations since 1969

Dr. Y.S.R Prasad, Chairman-cum- Managing Director, NPCIL, presented a maiden dividend cheque of Rs 50.44 crore to the Prime Minister at New Delhi, in a small function, in the presence of Dr R Chidambaram, Chairman, AEC, and Shri R M. Premkumar, Additional Secretary, DAE.

3.1 Table: Unitwise Power Generation Performance is shown in the Table follows

Reactor Generation in Generation in Capacity Availability (MUs) (MUs) Factor Factor Calendar Year Financial Year 1999 1999-2000 upto 31.12.99 (1999-2000 upto 31.12.99)

TAPS-1 944 600 57 64 TAPS-2 1219 867 82 84 Total 2163 1467 69

RAPS-1 964 679 69* 70 RAPS-2 1361 970 74 78 Total 2325 1649 71

MAPS-1 1356 1036 92 94 MAPS-2 994 817 73 72 Total 2350 1853 83

NAPS-1 1271 1152 79 92 NAPS-2 1580 1122 77 82 Total 2851 2273 78

KAPS-1 1592 1171 81 83 KAPS-2 1703 1264 87 90 Total 3295 2435 84

Kaiga-2$ 25 25

* The capacity factor has been worked out based on the present power level of 150 MWe as authorised by AERB. $ Infirm power (Kaiga-2 was synchronised to the grid first time on December 2, 1999).

Tarapur Atomic Power Station during which major jobs like regula- Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (2x160 MWe BWRs) tory inspection of reactor core shroud, (lOOMWe and 200 MWe PHWRs) The cumulative gross generation enhanced in-service inspection of The cumulative gross generation of of the station, since it commenced primary coolant system, Reactor the station since it commenced com- commercial operation till the end of Recirculation pump major overhaul mercial operations till the end of December 1999, was 54,748 MUs. and Drained reactor vessel works etc., December 1999 was 27,235 MUs. TAPS-1 achieved a continuous along with other routine maintenance The station generated 2325 MUs operation of 269 days from jobs, were undertaken. during the calendar year 1999 and 20.7.1998 to 14.4.1999, which is the TAPS-2 achieved 100% availabil- 1649 MUs during the period 1.4.99 longest continuous operation period so ity factor and capacity factor exceed- to 31.12.99 in the financial year far. Unit-1 achieved 100% Availabil- ing 95% during eight months of the 1999-2000. ity Factor and Capacity Factor exceed- calendar year 1999. The unit was RAPS-1 availed a shut down for ing 95% during six months of the under shutdown for about 30 days for about one month for replacement of calendar year 1999. repair on the Reactor Recirculation leaky gland cooler and another The unit accomplished its refuel- pump. planned shut down for about 13 days ling outage in a record time of 61 days, for inspection of main generator and 3.2 Tarapur Atomic Power Station-1&2

Rajasthan Atomic Power Station-1 &2

Madras Atomic Power Station-1&2 plugging of leaky tubes of condenser. to 31.12.99 of the financial year 1999- NUCLEAR POWER PROJECTS The unit is operating at its maximum 2000. UNDER CONSTRUCTION permitted power level of 150 MWe. During the year, Narora Atomic Kaiga Atomic Power The Regulatory Board permitted Power Station achieved Environmen- Project -1&2. (2 x 220 MWe) RAPS-2 to operate the unit at 100% tal Management System (EMS) certi- The project is for setting up a twin full power (FP) w.e.f. January 15,1999 fication as per the I SO-14001 Interna- unit station of PHWR type, ^ach of after its recommissioning and tional Standard. 220 MWe installed capacity. It is synchronisation on June 6, 1998, NAPS-1 achieved availability located at Kaiga in Uttar Kannada following the enmasse coolant chan- factor of 100% in the months of May district of Karnataka and will supply nel jobs and systems upgradation. The 1999 and September 1999. electricity to southern grid. The project unit was under planned short shutdown NAPS-2 achieved capacity factor has achieved an overall physical for replacement of mechanical seals of of 100% and above in the months of progress of 97.53% and incurred an PHT pumps and to carry out reloca- February 1999 and November 1999, expenditure of Rs.2,586 crore upto tion of control wiring of moderator and 100% availability factor in these December 1999. system control valves. The unit also months and also in the month of July Unit-2 of this project achieved criti- had a few process related outages 1999. The Unit was shutdown for cality on September 24, 1999. Subse- during the period. about a month to take up work of main quent to certain tests, the unit was air lock inner door. synchronised to the grid for the first Madras Atomic Power Station time on December 2, 1999. The reac- (2x170 MWe PHWRs) Kakrapar Atomic Power Stations tor set back test and Ramp power test The cumulative gross generation of (2x220MWe ) were conducted after synchronisation the station since it commenced The cumulative gross generation as per the directives of AERB at 50% commercial operation till the end of of the station since it commenced full power. The unit has been December 1999 was 29,101 MUs. commercial operation till the end of authorised by AERB to operate at full The station generated 2350 MUs December 1999 was 13,537 MUs. The power. The unit is expected to com- during the calendar year 1999 and station generated 3295 MUs mence commercial operation shortly. 1853 MUs for the period 1.4.99 to during the calendar year 1999 and The concreting of the Reactor 31.12.99 in the financial year 1999- 2435 MUs during the period 1.4.99 Building (RB) inner containment dome 2000. to 31.12.99 in the financial year 1999- of Kaiga-I, its prestressing and grout- MAPS-1 performed well recording 2000. Both the units of KAPS ing works were completed. All the civil continuous operation for about three performed well during the financial works in Turbine building (TB), months before it was taken out on year 1999-2000 up to December Reactor Auxiliary building (RAB), DG January 2, 2000 for inservice inspec- 1999. building. Spent Fuel Storage Building, tion of coolant channels. KAPS-I achieved a capacity factor Service Building, D20 upgrading Plant MAPS-2 which was shutdown in above 100% in the month of March Waste Management Plant were also mid-February 1999 for in-service 1999 and availability factor of 100% completed. inspection of coolant channels (ISI) in the months of March, April, May All the secondary cycle piping and was synchronised back to grid on and September 1999. The Unit availed conventional piping (outside RB) and 24.05.1999 after completing ISI and annual shut down for about a month most of the nuclear piping were ASD jobs. The unit had a record during which technical specification completed. The turbo-generator has continuous run of 183 days from related surveillance test, preventive already been taken on barring gear. 19.06.1999 to 19.12.1999. maintenance checks of major equip- The compressed air and chilled water ment and cobalt elements removal jobs plant have been commissioned. The Narora Atomic Power Station were carried out. concreting of Outer Containment (2x220 MWe PHWRs) KAPS-2 achieved an availability dome, painting of buildings and The cumulative gross generation factor of 100% during four months of Hydro-test of Main PHT system, Mod- of the station since it commenced com- 1999. The Unit had a planned shut- erator system and Reactor Auxiliary mercial operation till the end of down for about 12 days to carry out System are expected to be completed December 1999 was 17,893 MUs. reactor building leak test and techni- by March 2000. Kaiga-I is expected The station generated 2851 MUs cal specifications related tests. to achieve criticality in September during the calendar year 1999 and 2000. 2273 MUs during the period 1.4.99 The Kaiga Project won AERB's 3.4 Narora Atomic Power Station-1&2

Kakrapar Atomic Power Station-1&2

1'1'Sf •'. *JZ1*I>- + :I I^X'L'.1 . 'i-l '•'•- Li^'^*'->^i™^*™»*"*|i"*^^^r^!ff^SJ2IS5

Tarapur Atomic Power Project-3&4 Industrial Safety Award and also the ity in November 2000. Marine structures is in progress. ' NPCIL Industrial Safety Award. RAPP-3&4 won the AERB's Fire Critical components such as Safety Award for the year 1998. calandria, moderator pumps, reactor Raiasthan Atomic Power headers, and pressurisers for both the Proiect-3&4 (2x220 MWe) Tarapur Atomic Power units and PHT pump motors, TG com- The Rajasthan Atomic Power Proiect-3&4 (2x500 MWe) ponents for the first unit had already Project is a twin unit station of PHWR The project is located adjacent to been procured. The manufacture of type, each unit having an installed existing two unit of TAPS at Tarapur, Moderator heat exchangers, End- capacity of 220 MWe. It is located District - Thane, Maharashtra State and shields, Steam generators etc. are in adjacent to existing two units of RAPS will feed electrical power to western progress. Orders for R.B. main struc- at Rawatbhata in district Chittorgarh grid. The project comprises a twin unit tural steel, fueling machine bridge and of Rajasthan and will supply electric- station of Pressurised Heavy Water column, shielding plugs, sealing plugs, ity to the Northern Grid. The project Reactor (PHWR) type, each unit of condenser etc. have been placed and has achieved an overall physical 500 MWe installed capacity. work of manufacture of these compo- progress of over 93% and incurred an The project has achieved an nents has commenced. Pre-qualifica- expenditure of Rs. 2,078 crore up to overall physical progress of 16.2% tions of bidders for electrical, common December 1999. and incurred an expenditure of services, mechanical and primary RAPP-3 achieved criticality on Rs. 1298 crore up to December, 1999. piping packages have been started and December 24,1999 and is expected to The scheduled criticality date for are in various stages of progress. be synchronised to the grid in the near TAPP-4 and TAPP-3 are October 2005 future. and July 2006 respectively. Kudankulam Atomic Power As regards RAPP-4, concreting of The Main plant excavation work for Project (2x1000 MWe) RB-4 inner containment dome and its both units - 3&4 has been completed. The Kudankulam Project is an prestressing have been completed. The protective rock bund involving Indo-Russian joint venture for Concreting of its outer containment 1.4 lakh cubic metres of filling on Sea construction of a nuclear power (OC) dome has also been completed. face has also been completed along station consisting of two units of Epoxy painting of various floors and with site grading. Heavy duty crane pressurised water reactors (PWR) containment walls is expected to be road with 8 nos. of hot-spot is in final VVER-1000 each having a capacity completed by March 2000. All the civil stage of completion. All the tests 1000 MWe, at Kudankulam in Tamil works of TB, RAB NDCT ( Natural required for geotechnical investigation Nadu. The project is being imple- Drought Cooling Tower ) etc of have been completed and the test mented on a "Technical Cooperation" RAPP-4 have been completed and the results have been accepted by AERB. basis under the provisions of the remaining civil works of IDCT-4 Work order for Pakage-2 civil Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) (Induced Drought Cooling Tower) are works (i.e Safety related building con- signed in 1988. expected to be completed by end sisting of Reactor building. Service The work on preparation of DPR March 2000. building. Reactor Auxiliary Building, have been started with effect from Tasks in progress include erection Control Building and Station Auxiliary April 1999. Under the DPR of nuclear piping and feeders, instal- Building etc.) has been awarded . contract, around 25 premier design lation of feeder/header cabinet, erec- Levelling course of RB-4 has been organisations/institutes of Russian tion of fuel transfer equipment and completed. Reinforcement laying federation are involved in the prepa- installation of Primary shut down & work has commenced. First pour of ration of documents covering Prelimi- Secondary shut down system compo- concrete for RB-4 is expected to be nary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR), nents. taken up very soon. Levelling course Plant Design, Project Management, The prefabrication and erection of for RB-3 and other buildings is also Quality Assurance, and Project Cost & common service piping outside RB-4 completed. Finance. The design work to be has almost been completed and 85% Work Order for Conventional submitted would comprise about 196 of the secondary cycle piping has also Building (Package-3) such as Turbine packages. The techno-commercial been completed. The erection of Building, DM plant, Chlorination offer for implementation of the project condenser alongwith 50% erection of Plant, Fresh & Fire water reservoir, has would be submitted after approval of Turbo-Generator and Auxiliaries, has been awarded. Work for Part Tunnel the DPR. The entire DPR contract is already been completed. & Trenches has been substantially expected to be completed by October Unit-4 is expected to attain critical- completed and tendering work for 2001. 3.6 The design works for infrastruc- year, Quality Assurance Systems were Safety Review for Operating Stations) tures and township have been initiated. extended to operating stations and was conducted for RAPS. Construction of the property wall, construction projects to assure Two internal peer reviews were approach road and preliminary works compliance with quality requirements conducted at Narora Atomic Power at Kudankulam site have been for safety and reliability. Station prior to an international WANO completed. (World Association of Nuclear Opera- Efforts were made to assess the Health, Safety & Environment tors) peer review which is expected to ground water potential in Kudankulam The safety performance of the be carried out early this year. The area. In this regard integrated stations continued to be excellent dur- Kakrapar Atomic Power Station was geophysical deep resistivity survey ing the year. The radioactive releases already reviewed by international was done by National Gelogical to the environment and the occupa- WANO peer review team in early 1998 Research Institute, Hyderabad. While tional doses were kept "As Low As and improvements suggested have preliminary reports indicates the avail- Reasonably Achievable (ALARA)" been implemented. ability of water, the final report is and were much below the prescribed To upgrade Nuclear Safety aspects, under review. Test bore drilling is limits. Off-site emergency exercises a number of seminars were organised being initiated. were carried out at various sites to test with the help of IAEA/WANO such as, out the emergency preparedness plans. "Conservative decision making" at Quality Assurance The final report about the KAPS MAPS, "Event Analysis methodolo- As a sequel for obtaining the ISO epidemiological survey entitled gies" and "Good practices Workshop" 9001 Quality Management System "Effects of Low Dose lonization at KAPS & "NPP's operational safety accreditation, implementation was Radiation among the employees at performance indicators'^ TAPS. carried out vigorously with positive KAPS: A cross sectional study " was Various activities related to Indus- benefits. As part of maintaining the released. The Epidemiological data trial safety, Fire Safety, Safety Culture, path of excellence, Total Quality work at RAPS, NAPS and Kaiga sites Environment, Occupational Health, Management (TQM) initiatives were was completed. The data is under Green belt development and taken. As a follow up, senior manage- analysis at the Tata Memorial Hospi- ISO-14001 certification work of ment personnel of NPCIL were trained tal, Mumbai. NPCIL sites, were continued. as Assessors for Business Excellence/ NPCIL-Safety Review Committee Fire Hazard Analysis (FHA) for TQM. Self assessment of NPCIL (NPC-SRC), the apex in-house safety Kaiga was completed during the year towards Business Excellence /TQM body, continued to conduct appropri- and FHA for RAPP-3&4 made under European Foundation for Qual- ate interdisciplinary review of all progress. The Central Building ity Management Model, through the safety related events and safety Research Institute (CBRI) Roorkee is Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), submissions. The review provides developing a software for Fire Model. was carried out and an Application necessary guidelines to avoid events An in-house Fire Model named Document was submitted to the CII. and ensures that all proposals are com- "NUKEFIRE"was developed during NPCIL received a certificate for strong prehensive, implementable, consistent this year and is being upgraded through commitment to TQM. A major thrust and conforming to the relevant code user-interactions. was made in the area of training to requirements, enabling early resolution The quarterly news bulletin "Indus- upgrade the skills and knowledge of of the issues. So far, 102 such trial Safety News" continued to be engineers. A number of engineers were NPC-SRC review meetings have been published during the year. The trained as certified Quality Engineers conducted. The new technical speci- Frequency Rate (FR) of Industrial and in Non-Destructive Testing. fication for KAIGA-2 and RAPP-3 accident (reportable injury accidents Core shroud inspection activities at have been issued after approval from per million man-hours) has shown a TAPS were continued to achieve AERB. The revised technical specifi- steady drop over the last few years. The greater coverage of the welds. Design/ cation for NAPS, KAPS & MAPS FR for 1998 was 0.85. This has shown development for further improve- would be issued after approval of further decline in 1999. In addition, ments, was continued on manipula- AERB. Various internal safety reviews 1999 has been a year without any tors for ultrasonic testing of Core and audits were conducted for assur- serious/fatal accidents in the entire Shroud. Manipulator system was ance of Health & Safety aspects in the corporation in-spite of considerable developed and used for pre-service operating stations as well as in the peak level construction and commis- inspection of Coolant Channels of projects under construction. Detailed sioning activities. RAPP-3&4/Kaiga-l&2. During the safety review through ISROS (Internal

3.7 PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS

The Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. has shown a good performance dur- URANIUM ing the year 1998-99. All the major producing units of .the Company have re- CORPORATION corded higher capacity utilisation compared to previous year. Improved efficiency in all fields of operation has resulted in higher production of uranium OF INDIA concentrate and rise in net income of the Company. At Jaduguda, the first uranium mine of the country has been in continuous LTD. operation for the last 33 years. At present, trackless mining equipment are put to use in this mine by employing decline method of mining which has resulted in higher productivity. With the depletion of ore at the upper levels, the mine is now being deepened to 905m by sinking an underground shaft at a depth of 555m. Shaft sinking, lining and equipping are in the final stages of completion. After the installation of winder, the shaft will be made fully operational. The Bhatin mine is also being deepened to 250m to create additional production levels. The Narwapahar mine is now fully operational with modern mining equipment and technology. The 330m deep shaft has been commissioned. Deeper levels of the mine are also being developed. The expanded Jaduguda Mill has also been commissioned. High Levels of instrumentation and automation are the hallmarks of the mill. The production of uranium concentrate has also gone up appreciably. The production of uranium concen- trates from the copper tailings at the two uranium plants of the Corporation has shown a decline during the year. This is due to the scaling down of operations of the Hindustan Copper Lim- ited, as a result of which availability of tailings to the uranium recovery plants has been reduced. With large tonnage of ore being mined and processed, additional facilities for storage of tailings have also been created. The new tailings disposal pond which is called the Third Stage Tailings Pond, has been indigenously designed, and incorporates an effluent treatment facility and a ground water monitoring system. The Corporation has introduced Cage and Skip winders of Narwapahar computerisation at various levels of working. Necessary conversions /upgradation Vertical Shaft were carried out at all computer installation as a result of which a smooth trans- action of all operations into the year 2000 was successfully achieved. The Company is in the process of obtaining ISO-9001 and I SO-14001 certification for all its operations during this year. Accordingly, MECON Ltd, a Govt of India Undertaking has been engaged as consultant to assist and guide in the procedural details. A very high standard of safety is maintained in all the units of the Corpora

3.8 continued on page 3.11 PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKINGS

During the year 1998-99, the Company registered an all-time-high turnover INDIAN of Rs.178.07 crore. The Company earned foreign exchange of Rs.61.84 crore RARE from exports and was selected for the Capexil's Export award for 1998-99. As per the present trend, the Company is expected to improve the sales turnover to EARTHS about Rs.200 crore during 1999-2000 with about three fold increase of the profit margin. The foreign exchange earning is likely to touch a figure of around Rs.70 LTD. crore. The Company has also been awarded a contract for supply of a mini-pilot plant for monazite processing at a value of US$ 2.33 million for the Nuclear Materials Authority, Egypt. During 1999-2000, Chavara in all probability will exceed the revenue targets of production with respect to various minerals and value added products. The production at Chavara was affected by the non-availability of adequate quantity of raw sand. To improve the availability of raw sand, the Company is making all out efforts to acquire mining land at Karithura village by negotiated purchase from local villagers with the help of District administration. By implementing the Scheme, the Company has been able to acquire 9 acres of land so far and expects more in the near future. This will improve the production of Chavara in the coming years. The microzir project for production of fine zircon powder has also been completed. At Manavalakurichi, collection of raw sand from beach washing have restarted following an understanding reached with the local villagers. This will improve the availability of feed material and the performance of Manavalakurichi during 1999-2000. The project for additional recovery of zircon & rutile has been completed. The Manavalakurichi Unit obtained ISO 9002 certificate in the month of September 1999. OSCOM achieved an all time high production of 177055 tons of ilmenite during 1998-99 which is nearly 80% of the installed capacity. OSCOM would have significantly improved mineral production during 1999-2000 had it not for the severe cyclone which resulted in a shutdown of the plant Mcmavalakurichi coast: Mining of operations for 1-1/2 months. Notwithstanding, the adverse consequence of the Mineral Sand cyclone, the unit is expected to improve its gross margin significantly during this year. At Rare Earth Division the problem of accumulating inventory due to slug- gish market and increasing losses were major concerns. The product mix of the plant has been appropriately modified with a view to containing the losses. The PRYNCE project which was originally envisaged to produce 95% neodymium oxide has been modified for upgrading the product quality to 99%. The Company has signed a joint venture agreement with Austpac Resources

3.9 continued on paze 3.11 ELECTRONICS Operating Performance is During the year 1998-99, the production of the Company was about CORPORATION Rs.238 crore and the gross income was about Rs.251 crore. The corresponding figures in the previous year were about Rs.311 crore and Rs.348 crore respec- OF INDIA tively. A total of Rs.198 crore worth of orders were booked during the year.

LTD. MOU Performance The Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Atomic Energy for the year 1998-99 and the evaluation indicated the achievement rating as "Fair".

Jroducts The important new products introduced during the year 1998-99 were: Digi- tal Distributed Control System (DDCS) for Thermal Power Plants; Program- mable Tracking Antenna Control System for Space Applications; Data Link and Voice Information System (DAVIS) for Civil Aviation sector; PC Based Expendable Bathy Thermograph (XBT) Recorder for Naval Applications; Mobile Station Missile Checkout (MSMC) for Defence Applications.

Sales Plan for 1999-2000 The Corporation has drawn up a Sales Plan of Rs.440 crore for the year 1999-2000. This includes supply of: - Communication Equipment, worth Rs.60 crore. - Antenna Sytems, worth Rs.55 crore. - Instruments & Systems, worth Rs.30 crore. - Strategic Electronic Equipment, worth Rs.20 crore. - Telecom Products, worth Rs.39 crore. - Computer Systems for Business Applications including service support to customers, worth Rs.76 crore. - Control & Instrumentation Products, worth Rs.85 crore. PC based XBT Recoding System - Components, worth Rs.15 crore. - Special Products such as Fuzes, worth Rs.60 crore.

R&l> Programme The R&D programme of ECIL for the year 1999-2000 include : - Doubly curved Antenna Mark-II. - Ethernet Interface to ADIOS I/O Sub-system - Solid State CVR to meet TSOC 123 (30-198) - Compact X-Ray Generator.

3.10 Doubly curved Antenna (Top) and Digitally Tunable Bandpass Filters

- X-ray Mango Inspection System. - Development of Deuterium Arc Discharge Lamp. - Digitally tuned Multicouplers. - Development of Module and Algorithm for Secure Data & Voice FH.

Exports During 1999-2000 (till Dec. 1999), the Company exported the following products : Rs.25 lakhs worth of X-ray Generators, to Rs.25 lakhs worth of Notch Indicators to Hungary; Rs.12 lakhs worth of Gyros & Syn- chros to Malaysia, and Rs.5 lakhs worth of Software (DAISY) to France.

Future Outlook ECIL plans to make investments on several New Products / Projects. The areas being focussed on include : Antenna Control Unit; Four Port Com- biner; Barrage Jammer; Cipher Equip- ment; VHF Data Link; High Power RF and MW Components; Futuristic Automatic Data Handling System; Displays for Navy; Communication I/F for C3I.

continued from page 3.8 doctors from BARC, Tata Main Hos- continued from page 3.9 tion. The implementation of the Ecol- pital, Govt. of Bihar, UCIL and radia- NL, Australia for setting up a demon- ogy and Environmental Protection tion experts from Health Physics Unit, stration plant for producing 10,000 Programme is regularly monitored at BARC had made a door to door tons per year Synthetic Rutile Plant at all the units. The Environmental Sur- survey in about 17 villages within a OSCOM. The successful demon- vey Laboratory of the Health Physics radius of 2 kilo metres around stration of this plant will pave the way Unit of BARC at Jaduguda and Jaduguda. The team has unanimously of profitable harnessing of bountiful Narwapahar constantly monitor the agreed that there is not a single case Orissa ilmenite for value addition. background radiation in the environ- which can be ascribed to radiation An agreement has been signed with ment surrounding the various facilities. exposure. Centre for Earth Science Studies, A thorough medical survey has Trivandrum (CESS) for heavy mineral been conducted in villages around budgeting and integrated coastal zone Jaduguda to investigate if there is any management at Chavara. This study disease pattern related to the operations will throw up meaningful data which of UCIL. A medical team comprising would guide the optimal mining of the coastal deposits with Kerala State. 3.11 INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES

Eight Heavy Water Plants are installed in the country to meet the heavy wa- HEAVY ter requirements of Indian Nuclear Power and research Reactors. The Heavy WATER Water Board manages the operation and maintenance of seven of these plants. The production capacity of Heavy Water in the country is more than sufficient BOARD to meet the domestic demand.

Present Status For the period under report, the overall performance and the safety record of Heavy Water Plants were excellent, As a result of stable operation and continuous run of the plants the cumulative production achieved so far has exceeded the target scheduled for the period. It is expected that during the financialyear 1999-2000 production will exceed the scheduled target within the allotted budget due to major efforts in energy conservation. The continuous motivation and awareness of the plant personnel has also resulted in an overall reduction in specific energy consumption. The plants at Tuticorin, Baroda and Kota completed more than 8.6, 9.6 and 5.3 million manhours of continuous operation respectively without any reportable accident. Operation of the Heavy Water Plant at Talcher remains suspended due to unsatisfactory operation of the connected fertilizer plant of the Fetilizer Corporation of India on which the plant depends for feed stock and other inputs. Heavy Water Plant at Baroda has been stopped since end December, 1998 due to closure of old Ammonia plants of GSFC, Baroda to which it is linked. A major modification for reviving operation of HWP, Baroda is initiated by the Board. The same includes development of "Ammonia Water Front End" Technology which will delink the ammonia based Heavy Water Plants from the associated Fertilizer Plant. Atomic Energy Commis- sion (AEC) has approved the scheme in its recent meeting and financial sanction has been received.

Plant Performance of plants During the period HWP (Manuguru) was running on a sustained basis except for few outages due to inhouse rea- sons. One unit of the plant has taken Annual Turn Around jobs for 18 days in May/June 99. Major Turn Around of the Heavy Water Plant (Kota) was taken during mid August-October 1999. During the rest of the period pint was running an a sustained basis except for R&D Pilot Plant ofD2EHPA at few outages due to interruption in power and steam supply. Heavy Water Plant, Talcher Performance of HWP (Hazira) during the period was very good except for inaugurated by Dr. R. Chidambaram, few occasions when the feed gas supply wasrestricted/stopped due to non avail- Chairman, AEC ability of natural gas from GAIL. Performance of HWP (Thai) has been very good during the period and the plant has exceeded the scheduled target production for the period. Performance of HWP (Tuticorin) during the period was very good. Industrial relations in all the plants remained very cordial. 4.1 few occasions when the feed gas sup- recommendations have been worked ply wasrestricted/stopped due to non out simultaneously for improving availability of natural gas from GAIL. efficiency in Energy utilization. Performance of HWP (Thai) has been very good during the period and Diversification the plant has exceeded the scheduled As part of future diversification a target production for the period. R&D Pilot Plant facility for produc- Performance of HWP (Tuticorin) tion of Solvent Di-2-ethyl Hexyl during the period was very good. Phosphoric Acid (D2EHPA) has Industrial relations in all the plants been successfully commissioned at remained very cordial. HWP, Talcher. The Board obtained the process chemistry from BARC. The Major Modifications facility is now fully operational and so Effluent Heat Recovery system at far 2040 Kg. of D2EHPA has been HWP, Kota to recover heat from the produced and the quality of the same liquid effluent is likely to be commis- meets the international standards. sioned by end Jan 2000 this is expected Board has already supplied 1.5 MT to to reduce the steam consumption by M/s. Hindustan Zinc Ltd. An external 3-5 MT/hr. Agency has been requisitioned for de- An additional transformer of 40 tailed market survey for establishing MVA has been installed at HWP(Kota) demand which will be used for taking to improve the availability of power a decision regarding setting up indus- supply and trouble free run of the plant. trial scale unit. Implementation of ISO-9002 quality system has been completed at HWP, New Initiatives Tuticorin. It is perhaps the first plant Value Engineering Committees within the department to get ISO have been constituted at all HWPs to Quality system certificate for the have strict control on inventory of establishment as a whole covering en- spares and to ensure that the spared tire activities including administration other materials being indented are es- & accounts. sential and not ad going to add the dead inventory of the plant Conservation Heavy Water Board in persuasion Heavy Water Board has been of the goal of achieving higher produc- putting in enhanced efforts in efficient tivity/excellence in all aspects of use of energy, water and recycling of Heavy Water Production has also un- contaminated Oil generated in the dertaken subject of "Work Study" to rotary machines which use liquid film assess on a scientific basis the man- seals for shall staling. Schemes for power requirement and to have best Recirculation of heated effluent has deployment of manpower. Board has been commissioned and is operating entrusted the work study at HWP very satisfactorily resulting in signifi- (Kota) to "National Productivity Coun- cant reduction in energy consumption. cil" (NPC). In order to strengthen the efforts towards energy conservation, it was decided to conduct Energy Audits at all Heavy Water Plants. M/s. National Productivity Council (NPC)) was entrusted to conduct the Energy Audit at HWP Hazira and Manuguru. Action plan On short-term and long-term

4.2 INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES

Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) is responsible for manufacturing zirconium NUCLEAR alloy clad, natural and enriched uranium oxide fuel assemblies for all the FUEL Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) and Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) respectively in the country and zirconium alloy structural components COMPLEX for these reactors including calandria and pressure tubes for PHWRs and square channels for BWRs. In addition, NFC produces seamless stainless steel and special alloy tubes of international standards for nuclear and nonnuclear applications. During the year 1999-2000, the annual production target set for all the plants were met and in cases of Uranium Oxide Plant (UOP), Ceramic Fuel Fabrica- tion Plant (CFFP), Enriched Fuel Fabrication Plant (EFFP), Zirconium Oxide Plant (ZOP) and Zirconium Sponge Plant (ZSP), the actual productions far exceeded the targets and all time high production figures were achieved. Apart from meeting the regular requirements of reload fuel for all the operating PHWRs at RAPS, MAPS, NAPS and KAPS and BWRs at TAPS, the initial fuel charges of KAIGA-I, RAPS-III and RAPS-IV were supplied well in advance.

Technology Development & Upgradation Several modifications were made in the manufacturing of high density natural uranium oxide fuel pellets for pressurised heavy water reactors. First, ad- mixing of lubricants with uranium oxide granules prior to final compaction led to significant recovery of sintered pellets. The tool life of dies and plungers for pellet compacting was improved nearly three times utilising Cryogenic heat treatment. As a result, the down time of the powder compacting presses was significantly reduced. A novel method based on "roll compaction of uranium oxide powder followed by granulation" was introduced for producing free flowing uranium oxide granule. Thus, the classical "pre- compaction and granulation" is being phased out. The "roll compaction" 37- element PHWRfuel assembly technique not only increased the productivity but also resulted in consistency of for 500 MWe Tarapur Atomic granule quality. Power Project -3&4 A major campaign was carried out for recycling.sintered UO2 pellets scrap which had accumulated over the years for production of uranium oxide powder. This has led to substantial reduction, in the generation of Urany 1 Nitrate Raffinate Cake (UNRC). Flow Induced Vibration (FIV) subassembly of PFBR was under fabricated for the first time. PRP development work in Zr-1% Nb with respect to meeting mechanical and metallurgical property was completed and short term requirements of Fuel tubes, Poison Tubes and bars were met. Development work with respect to fabrication of channel of size 46mm OD

4.3 tubes, Poison Tubes and bars were met. ride, purification of tetrachloride and Quality Assurance Development work with respect to separation of zirconium and hafnium Over the years, a comprehensive fabrication of channel of size 46mm by distillation using a molten salt sys- Quality Assurance Programme has OD x 0.7mm wall thickness was suc- tem. In continuation of the laboratory been evolved for the manufacture and cessfully completed. Manufacture of studies carried out at BARC, a 39-stage supply of fuel assemblies and zircaloy 23 metre long tubes in size 17.8mm x distillation column was experimented mill products for the nuclear power 2.56mm for steam generators of FBTR at NFC, with encouraging results of reactors and seamless stainless steel and manufacture of hexagonal chan- separation and leading to the clear un- and special alloy tubes. nel in D9 material for FBTR and fuel derstanding of molten salt technology. To enable NFC to enter global mar- clad tubes in sizes 5.1mm OD x A vertical submersible pump for high ket for various products and services, 0.37mm wall thickness in SS 316 ma- temperature molten salt reached an the certification process for ISO 9002, terial for FBTR was completed. advanced stage indigenous develop- will soon be completed. This exercise For the first time inconel 600 was ment. The design of the pilot plant has helped NFC to revamp and update extruded with good quality and cold equipment for chlorinator, purification the calibration programme and com- rolling parameters were also estab- and 60-stage extractive distillation col- pletely review the total quality of docu- lished for the manufacturing of tubes. umn was completed and the same is mentation involving Quality Manual, This will meet the requirements of expected to be made operational dur- Procedure Manual, various MEIs, ongoing Pyrochemical Process Devel- ing next the 12-18 months. QCIs and the Work Instructions. opment Plant. With a view to attain 6-sigma lev- Austenitic stainless steel required Spin-off Products els of quality, a cell for Statistical Data for heat exchanger tubings in low wall As a non-nuclear spin-off, NFC has Analysis has been set up. Further, as thickness was successfully extruded at undertaken supply of copper blanks nondestructive testing techniques form Horizontal Extrusion Press for the first for Prithvi and Nag Liners and sup- a major part of the QA, emphasis has time thereby reducing the process steps plied 52Nos. of blanks for trials to been focussed on indigenous develop- for manufacturing small diameter tub- M/s.Metal & Steel Factory, Ishapore. ment of automated Ultrasonic Testing ing. - NFC continued to cater to zirco- Systems. An automated UT System An important milestone in the zir- nium alloy needs of Fertilizer Indus- for evaluation of zircaloy fuel tubes conium group was the installation and tries and the requirements of and another system for zircaloy billets operation of slurry extractor unit for M/s.GNFC Ltd. and M/s.RCFL. are in advanced stage of fabrication zirconium extraction. This coupled - Tubes in special grades of alloy and will be put into operation by April, with process engineering improve- like 15CDV6 and aluminium alloy 2000. ments has resulted in considerable sav- were successfully completed for space Another major effort was the de- ings in the consumables. The process requirements. velopment of suitable NDT methods of making nuclear grade niobium metal - Silver alloy gaskets required for for replacing the present destructive was in progress was established at the NPCIL, BHEL were successfully techniques such as metallography of Special Materials Plant. manufactured and supplied by Tool end cap welds and shear strength test- Room. ing for bearing pad welds of PHWR New Schemes Indigenous Equipment Develop- fuel assemblies. Ultrasonic testing was Three new schemes namely, 37 El- ment established as a reliable technique for ement PHWR Fuel Project for TAPS- * A technique for welding of bear- 100% evaluation of PHWR end cap III & IV (PHWR 500 MWe), Replace- ing pads and spacer pads on empty fuel welds. Based on that, a fully automatic ment and Augmentation of Zirconium tubes (19 element type) without caus- robotized Go-No Go system for UT Sponge Plant and Advanced Materi- ing weld depressions was developed of end cap. welds was designed and als Processing and Characterisation and adopted on the existing produc- fabrication initiated. Facilities were sanctioned. These tion equipment. An innovative Quality Assurance schemes were under implementation. *A laser power source based cut- for the initial fabrication and in-service Pyrochemical Process for separating equipment for decanning of re- inspection of SS 310 S pressure ves- tion of zirconium and hafnium jected fuel elements for the reclama- sels used as reduction reactors at high The pyrochemical process involves tion of UO2 pellets was developed in temperature and corrosion was evolved the direct conversion of zircon sand collaboration with CAT, Indore. for in-house zirconium sponge produc- mineral to crude zirconium tetrachlo- tion. The plan implemented during the

Continued on paee 4.10 4.4 INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES

The Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology (BRIT) produces and BOARD supplies a variety of radioisotope products including radiochemicals, labelled OF compounds of carbon-14 and tritium, nucleotides labelled with phosphorus-32, phosphorous-33 and sulphur-35, radiopharmaceuticals and RIA kits, radiation RADIATION sources, gamma radiography equipment and gamma irradiator systems to users in the country and abroad. BRIT operates Regional Centres for AND Radiopharmaceuticals located at Bangalore, Delhi and Calcutta, RIA centre at Dibrugarh, Laboratory for preparation of labelled nucleotides, (JONAKI), at ISOTOPE Hyderabad, and Cobalt-60 handling facility at RAPS site, Kota (RAPPCOF), besides the radiation sterilization plant, ISOMED, at Trombay. The work TECHNOLOGY carried out under different programmes of BRIT during the year is summarized below:

Radiochemicals About 70.6 TBq(1910 curies ) of a number of reactor produced radioisotopes were processed in over 165 batches for supply to various users and for formulation of a variety of radiopharmaceuticals; these include radioisotopes such as molybdenum-99, phosphorus- 32, sulphur-35, iodine-131, chro- mium-51, mercury-203 etc. About 10 kgs of phosphorus-32, calcium-45, and sulphur-35 labelled agrochemicals were supplied for use in agricultural research. Nearly one kg of prome- thium-147 self-luminous compound and 100 tritium gas filled light sources were supplied for illumination of in- strument dials and other devices used by defence installations.

Radiation Sources A total of 12.95 PBq ( 350 kilocuries ) of radiation sources of low, medium and high intensity were Demonstration Plant for Radiation Process- ing of Spices at Vashi, Navi Mumbai

First batch of samples being recieved for radiation processing on January 1, 2000 fabricated and supplied for use in response to an order received from maintenance of the lab and equipment. industry, medicine, agriculture and IAEA, Vienna. An export order Also design and fabrication of spe- research. These include radiation from Japan Radioisotope Association cially required tools was carried out in sources of isotopes such as cobalt-60, for the supply of 32 nos. of cobalt-60 house. iridium-192, and caesium-13 7. Over radiography sources is under execu- The Regional Centres at Bangalore 800 consignments of iridium-192, to- tion. BRIT supplied a fume hood and Delhi regularly processed ready- taling about 1.1 PBq (29.8 kilocu- alongwith blower and other accesso- to-use Tc-99m radiopharmaceuticals ries ) were supplied in the form of ries to Sri Lanka in response to an for use in the host nuclear medicine sealed sources for radiography exami- order received from IAEA, and labo- centres in addition to supplying the nation of industrial components used ratory equipment and accessories of product to other needy hospitals in the in various industrial projects in the Tc-99m generator to Syria. BRIT also region. The Centres at Dibrugarh and country . Over 670 consignments of regularly exports Hg-203 to U.K and Bagalore continued to offer radioim- reference and custom made sources Germany and Ir-192 radiography munoassay service to local hospitals. were supplied for use in industrial source to Srilanka. radioisotope gauges and educational Introduction of New Product institutions. Radiopharmaceuticals During this year the supply of a new Over 130 consignments of iridium- Over 45,000 consignments of product MIBG1-131 injection (IOM- 192 in the form of 0.3 mm dia wire different radiopharmaceuticals, cold 50) was introduced with encouraging and six Cs-137 manual after loading kits and radioimmunoassay kits were results from the users. kits were supplied to radiotherapy cen- supplied to various nuclear medicine Production and supply of a new tres for use in brachytherapy, and six- centres and RIA laboratories for diag- product-Kit for preparation of Tc-99m teen large output sources of cobalt-60 nostic and therapeutic use. ECD injection (TCK-42) was started of total activity 5.03 PBq (136 Kilo 53 batches of Mo-99 Sodium on a regular basis. curies) were supplied to various tele- Molybdate were processed,each batch A new package for the safe trans- therapy centres for cancer treatment. of average 20 Curies, and around 3000 port of radiopharmaceutical product in Twelve adjuster rods containing consignments were despatched . Dur- LP 20 lead containers was introduced over 100 PBq (2.7 megacuries) of co- ing this year, the processing and des- making it uniform with the packing of balt-60 were unloaded from NAPS-I. patch of Mo-99 was shifted from Mon- LP-30 lead Containers which was These rods were transported to cobalt day to Saturday so that all nuclear started last year. Introduction of these handling facility RAPPCOF at Kota medicine centres can start using this new packages resulted in greater ease for processing. Two adjusters were dis- product on the first day of the week. and safety in handling both at packing mantled under water to estimate exact 56 batches of the other major and user's end, apart from obviating activity. About 5.88 PBq ( 160 kilo- radioactive product, I-131«Sodium the need for wood for packing. curies ) of Cobalt-60 was recovered Iodide solution were processed and and transported to BRIT laboratories more than 6500 consignments of Product Development at Trombay for fabrication of radiation solution (IOM-1) and 3752 consign- During the year the work for sources for use in gamma irradiation ments of capsules (IOM-2) were sup- development of the following prod- plants. plied. There were no interruptions in ucts/processes were pursued: the supply schedule. The bimonthly • Kit for preparation of Tc-99m EC Export of Radioisotope Products production and supply of 1-131 la- Injection and Equipment belled product Hippuran 1-131 injec- • 153 Sm EDTMP 1.85 PBq (50,000curies) cobalt-60 tion (IOM-8) was continued. • Kit for preparation of Tc-99m source loaded in a newly developed A wide variety of raw materials, HIG/HIG fragments Injection Type B(U) transport cum-working radioactive materials, additives, re- • Colloidal Chromic phosphate 32P container alongwith accessories, agents etc. used in the production of suspension (CCPS ) was exported to Atomic Energy radiopharmaceuticals were tested in • m Sm- Samarium phosphate Research Establishment at Dhaka, addition to carrying out regular analy- colloid (SMPC) Bangladesh. One Gamma Chamber sis of various batches of the radiop- • Hydroxy Apatite - 32P Suspen- 5000 Unit loaded with 12,000 curies harmaceutical products. sion ( HAPS) of cobalt-60 was exported to Atomic RPL workshop provided full func- • Development of Tc-99m labelled Energy Department of Myanmar in tional engineering support for the agents for CNS Receptors

4.6 (IAEA-CRP) « Jumbo Gel generator for Low Spe- cific Activity Mo-99 « Automated Package Monitoring system for radioactive consignments

Labelled Compounds Over 900 consignments of carbon- 14 and tritium labelled compounds and 1900 consignments of P-32, P-33 and S-35 labelled biomolecules were supplied to about 250 research institutions. The JONAKI laboratory at Hyderabad produced P-32 and P-33 labelled nucleotides on a regular basis, covering almost all the indigenous requirements of P-32 and P-33 labelled biomolecules for studies in molecular ISOMED Plant, at Trombay biology. dressings, disposable infusion and indicators, go-no-go irradiation 60 consignments of non-radio transfusion sets, surgical sutures, indicator buttons, and disposable active ( cold) kits for use in recombi- gloves and a number of other medical sterile drapes and trolley covers. nant DNA technology were supplied. devices were sterilized at the plant dur- ISO 9002 certification process for Custom synthesis of some important ing the year. A number of cartons con- ISOMED Services reached final stages products for use in bio-medical taining surgical sutures, latex gloves, of completion and the certification is research was also undertaken. ayurvedic products, herbal extracts expected to be achieved shortly. This Oligonucleotides ( DNA primers ) were radiation sterilized in ISOMED will enable Isomed to provide of varying sequences and concentra- on behalf of user industries for export. standardized services to health care tions, as per researchers' requests, have During the year, ISOMED steril- sector and better acceptance of been custom synthesized and supplied. ized large consignments of Dai kits ISOMED services in the international Realising the importance of non-radio- (midwifery kits ) and delivery packs field. active kits for molecular biology for the benefit of women and child research, JONAKI laboratory is taking population in rural areas to help bring Radiation Equipment up R & D work in the areas related to down infection of mothers and help 35 remotely operated radiography non-radioactive kits. minimize the infant mortality. A few cameras Model ROLI-1 were supplied milllion dai kits were sterilized at to industrial users for use in non- ISOMED Plant during Radiation Sterilization Blood Irradiator-2000 After completing over 25 years of the year by different successful operation and enabling ac- manufacturers for ceptance of "Radiation Processing" supply to rural heath as a reliable technique for sterilization programme funded by of medical disposable products, WHO. ISOMED, the first radiation steriliza- ISOMED also tion plant in the country, continued to continued production offer irradiation services to health care and supply of items sector with an impressive growth. The relevant to gamma plant availability factor was main- radiation processing tained at more than 90% and the and health care capacity factor was also above 85%. programme such as Approx. 10,000 cu. meters ( 1,16,000 ceric-cerous cartons ) of medical products such as dosimeters, biological

A.I destructive testing. Servicing of ROLI Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology obtaining requisite clearance from cameras prior to source replacement IW9 AERB. and mandatory checks, as recommended by Radiological Physics Augmentation of Cobalt-60 handling & Advisory Division, BARC, were facility at RAPPCOF, Kota carried out on all cameras . To process larger quantities of The design of the main components cobalt-60 which are now produced of a light weight, portable, depleted from various power reactors, and also uranium shielded remotely operated to meet the increasing demand for camera was completed and the Radioisotope products and Co-60 sources for use in industry and procurement for obtaining these items equipment valued about Rs. 1.5 crore medicine,and to cater to export orders, for 100 units as per BRIT design was were exported to countries such as the RAPPCOF facility at Kota was in progress. The camera will have United Kingdom, Germany, Sri Lanka, under augmentation. capacity to hold upto 2.8 TBq ( 75 Syria, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Detailed drawings were prepared curies) of iridium-192. There is a long Tanzania. and various machinery items were felt demand of the industry for an procured. Project Implementation indigenous light weight gamma Capital Projects and Schemes Committee was set up and action was radiography camera. National Medical Cyclotron Facility, initiated for timely procurement and Four Gamma Chamber Units Hyderabad installation of the necessary were refurbished and replenished with Under IX Plan, BRIT has initiated equipment. fresh cobalt-60 source. The PANBIT a project for setting up the National facility at Shree Chitra Thirunal Medical Cyclotron Facility in the Augmentation of Radiochemical Institute of Medical Sciences, campus of Nizam's Inst. of Medical Laboratories at Radiological Labs., Thiruvananthapuram, was refurbished Sciences, Hyderabad, for production BARC and loaded with about 3.33 PBq ( 90 of entire range of cyclotron based The project intends to replace the kilocuries) of cobalt-60 source. isotopes. The DAE Review Committee existing radiochemical processing Irradiation of blood and blood on Radioisotopes and Radiation plant. The augmentation will facilitate products by gamma rays is a good Applications recommended setting up processing of higher levels of activities technique to reduce the risk of a 19 MeV Cyclotron. Final decision of radioisotopes such as Mo-99,1-131, transfusion associated graft verses host and financial sanction are awaited. P-32 and miscellaneous isotopes with disease ( TA-GVHD). The design of Demonstration Plant for Radiation lower radiation exposure to the a blood irradiator ( BI 2000 ) using Processing of Spices operators and will also enable BRIT cobalt-60 source was completed. An The Commercial Demonstration to meet the increasing demand for advanced prototype unit is under Plant for Radiation Processing of these radioisotope products. Action fabrication. The unit will be ideally Spices, a project under VIII Plan, was has already been initiated for the suited for use in the blood banks all complete in all respects . Requisite procurement of hot cell equipment and over the country. Necessary type regulatory clearance from AERB and other associated materials. approval of the Blood Irradiator Unit from Maharashtra State Drug & Food for its use and transportation as a Type Administration and the Licence from Column Type Tc-99m Generator B (U) package was obtained from the Competent Authority for regular Production Assembly. AERB. Action was initiated for the processing of spices in the plant were Under this Project, it is proposed fabrication of the first lot of 10 nos. of obtained. to set up a facility for production of blood irradiator unit. The plant is now ready for user friendly Tc-99m column commercial demonstration and regular generators which would facilitate Sales Turnover processing of spices in this plant has handling of large levels of activity and During the calendar year 1999, commenced. The plant, designed for aseptic handling facilities for ensuring more than 50,000 consignments of a maximum capacity of 1000 pharmaceutical safety, apart from radioisotope products valued at kilocuries of cobalt-60 source, has increasing the number of patients who Rs. 17.84 crore were supplied for use been loaded with 100 kilocurie cobalt- could be benefited. in industry, research, agriculture and 60 source which will be gradually The Conveyor system was under health care. increased to its full capacity after installation. Setting up of the assembly

4.8 line for the production of generator is Brachytherapy source Production was ment. Efficiency of the new expected to be completed shortly. organized by BRIT during November- photoionisation schemes were also December 1999 which was attended studied. Design.Development of Radiation by participants from Japan, China and To have a greater understanding of Equipment and Test Facility India. the resonant laser ablation technique There is a great demand for and its applicability to elemental analy- improved versions of radiation CENTRE FOR COMPOSI- sis at ultratrace levels, preliminary ex- equipment such as DU shielded TIONAL CHARACTERIZA- periments were carried out. A study lightweight radiography camera, blood TION FOR MATERIALS related to the tuning of dye laser to two- irradiator etc. In addition, with the photon resonance transition of silicon. availability of large quantity of cobalt- Bulk Analysis The laser repetition frequency was 60 from power reactors, there is a need The Centre continued to provide found to play a role on the ion yield. to fabricate transport containers for the specialized analytical services to vari- safe transport of large quantities of ous organizations in addition to devel- Ultra Trace Analysis cobalt-60 sources used in radiation oping newer analytical methodologies A novel sample introduction processing plants. All these equipment through R&D work. Following were method for the analysis of naphtha was and containers need to be tested to the activities of the Centre during the developed, which considerably re- demonstrate their compliance with year of report: duced the solvent loading in the relevant IAEA/AERB regulations. A method for analysis was devel- plasma. Studies on the effect of re- Currently, neither BRIT nor any DAE oped, using a combination of tech- fractory element coatings on the graph- Unit possess testing facility for niques, for determination of impuri- ite platforms used in GFAAS revealed equipment/flasks. The total financial ties in quartz at ppm and lower levels. that the formation of the refractory car- outlay for the project is Rs. 8.5 crore. Also, a chemical leaching procedure bides improved the sensitivity of some This facility will be utilized for the was standardized for purification of easily volatilized elements besides development and supply of low cost raw quartz, which resulted in a reduc- improving the life time of the tubes. blood irradiators containing cobalt-60 tion in the levels of various impurities Determination of In and Sn in Gallium source to various hospitals throughout present in quartz. metal samples were carried out using the country and also for the this approach. Boron, a crucial trace element, is development of light weight, portable lost as boron trifluoride in dissolution Analytical methods for multi-ele- gamma radiography exposure device using hydrofluoric acid. A method was ment trace characterization of materi- with depleted .uranium shielding developed which helped in the estab- als used in electronic industry, Cd, As, meeting with all the requirements of lishment of an indigenous facility in As2O3 and Sb were developed. Ap- ISO 3999. private sector, for the production of proaches using ICP-MS required de- high purity quartz. velopment of matrix separation meth- International Relations Methods were developed for the ac- ods based on ion exchange, volatiliza- Two scientists from BRIT visited curate determination of barium and ti- tion and solvent extraction. Direct Atomic Energy Research tanium in the cereamic sample and the analyses of these materials were also Establishment, Dhaka, Bangladesh, in stoichiometry of germanium and sele- carried out to provide cross validation, connection with the execution of the nium in germanium selanide. and analysis of materials up to purity order received for the supply, Two colour photoionisation levels of 6N could be carried out rou- installation, and commissioning of 50 schemes for selective excitation of odd tinely. kilocurie cobalt-60 gamma irradiation isotopes of gadolinium was studied. Trace impurity determinations of plant at the Institute of Food and Five photoionisation schemes were several 7N purity tellurium samples Radiation Biology, Dhaka. identified in the Rhodamine-6G dye were carried out, using a combination One scientist from BRIT visited laser region, for carrying out selective of ICP-MS and GFAAS. An isotope Saudi Arabia in connection with a excitation of odd isotopes of gado- dilution ICP-MS method was investi- quotation for supply of 300 kilocurie linium. Experimental and theoretical gated for the ultra-trace level determi- cobalt-60 source to the gamma (Spectral simulation) abundances of nation of boron in high purity quartz irradiation plant at Saudi Arabia. odd Gd isotopes in the two color reso- samples. Investigations on the appli- IAEA- Regional Expert workshop on nant photoionisation schemes were cation of Glow Discharge Mass Spec- Quality Assurance in Cobalt-60 compared which were in good agree- trometry for trace impurity character- 4.9 ization of ceramic samples are in Nuclear Resonance Reaction Analysis arsenic, were determined. Depth dis- progress. and Backscattering Spectrometry. tribution of fluorine was investigated Porous silicon layers prepared by In an investigation of analysis in in several HDPE bottles used in pack- electrochemical anodisation of Silicon oxide and carbonate matrices contain- aging industry. These bottles were wafers in HF based medium were ing elements like Ca,Mg,Ce,Zr etc, a fluorinated to modify their surfaces to investigated. P-type Si(lll) wafers discrepancy in the values of fluorine enhance their solvent barrier proper- were anodised in solutions consisting was observed. Studies made attributed ties. Graphite electrodes used in fluo- of HF and methanol mixed in differ- this discrepancy to gamma rays from rine generation by electrolysis, were ent proportions. The composition of the matrix elements in addition to studied for their surface composition. the resultant layers on silicon was stud- flourine. Thick target yields of prompt ied by ion beam analysis involving gamma rays of 110 and 279 keV from

Continued from page 4.4 With an in-house design of Eddy Cur- two standards of uranium oxide pow- last 4 years, with concomitant effec- rent coil, thermal sleeves of Indian der samples. A comprehensive tive process control in the plant, Space Research Organisation were Manual of Laboratory Methods for enhanced the life of reactors by nearly evaluated and qualified. analysis of zirconium, uranium, stain- 100%, with corresponding assurance To cater to the highest fuel produc- less steel and other special materials of process safety and reduction of pro- tion, the Control Laboratory was car- were prepared, which would serve as duction cost. The expertise was also ried out chemical analysis of 33,500 Reference Document for ISO-9002 extended for qualification of fabrica- samples involving 2,21,000 estima- and NAB Certification. tion of special high temperature reactions. Upgradation and development tors for titanium sponge production in of new analytical techniques continued Health, Safety & Environment 400 kg batch size at DMRL. to cater to new types of matrices as The industrial safety record of NFC The NDT expertise involving eddy well as to change over from manual to remained very good. The Fuel and current and ultrasonic testing had been automated instrumental methods of Tubes groups completed more than 4 employed for the in-service inspection analysis. The Laboratory has played a million accident free man hours. Two of heat exchangers at Kota and major role this year in carrying out major seminars organised included Manuguru Heavy Water Plants. Tech- Inter-laboratory comparison of ICP- Risk Assessment and Health Hazards niques were developed for indigenous AES estimation of impurities in ura- and Role of Trade Union in Safety and manufacture of Eddy Current Probes nium, with a view to harmonise the an Awareness programme on Critical- for special applications and ISI carried techniques of all the laboratories of ity Safety for the NFC officers and Department of Atomic Energy. These out on the synthesis loop waste heat supervisors. boiler of National Fertilisers at Guna. experiments enabled certification of

4.10 SERVICE ORGANISATIONS

5.1 DIRECTORATE OF PURCHASE AND STORES The Directorate of Purchase and Stores (DPS) and its Units provided material management support to the constituent organisations of DAE by way of purchases, receipt, issue, accounting, safe-custody and disposal of stores. After computerisation of materials management activities of Central Stores Unit, BARC, work was taken up to provide on-line computer network for the Local Purchase Section of DPS. This work was successfully executed during the year. This resulted in speedier processing of small value indents. This Chapter describes the The Technical Liaison Mission, Paris undertook the quality surveillance and inspection of the items against purchase contracts placed by DPS; sourcing/ activities of the Service expediting of supplies, quality assurance activities, locating and evaluating Organisations of DAE namely alternate source of supplies of critical and strategic materials etc, and assistance the Directorate of Purchase & for collecting technical information and public relation support for delegates Stores (DPS), Directorate of visiting on nuclear programmes. Construction, Services & Bilateral cooperation agreements in scientifically and technologically Estate Management relevant areas for DAE programmes, were planned. Interactions were carried (DCS&EM) and out with French Government and major industrial establishments involved in science and advanced technology fields. General Services High Level contacts were organised between India and France'in the field of Organisation (GSO). R&D, Technology, Regulatory aspects etc. Technical discussions during visits of senior officials were organised. Agreement for cooperation between India and France for Directorate level implementation was issued by the French Indents handled 34600 Nos. Atomic Energy Commission on Waste Purchase Orders placed 32900 Nos. Minimisation and Management. This Stores Transactions 10.5 lakh document is under review by DAE. Value of purchase made Rs. 499 crore. A protocol agreement between Quantum of revenue realised by Rs. 1.89crore AERB, and the Directorate of Nuclear disposing scrap /unserviceable Installation Safety, France was signed items( in 1999) by the Chairmen of both French and (Figures have been rounded off) Indian Regulatory Boards. As a follow up, an Indian delegation of AERB held technical discussions with French Pro- Work quantum handled by the fessionals on Nuclear Security. They also participated in the emergency exer- Directorate of Purchase & Stores cises organised at Paris. during the year of report DPS held price negotiations with the Trade and Industries which resulted in a saving of approx. Rs. 14.22 crore (1/4/99 to 31/12/99) and helped in conclud- ing contracts with terms and conditions more advantageous to the Department.

5.2 DIRECTORATE OF CONSTRUCTION, SERVICES & ESTATE MANAGEMENT Directorate of Construction, Services & Estate Management is responsible for the planning, design, engineering, execution, testing & commissioning of civil, public health, electrical, air-conditioning & ventilation works for housing, hostels, schools, hospitals, laboratories & various public buildings for various units of DAE including aided institutions and other departments of the Gov- ernment. In addition, this Directorate is responsible for the operation and maintenance of all electrical, mechanical, civil, estate management and security services for the housing colonies of DAE at Mumbai. DCSEM also carries out upgradation of infrastructure facilities & energy conservation for their services.

5.1 100 flats of brief are as under :- Type III-C in the Western Estate Management Sector of Allotment of residential quarters, Anushakti- shops and allied matters, Guest House, nagar Hostels, Liaison with State Govern- ment and Local Authorities were looked after.

Electrical Construction Works Laying of jelly filled communication cable was carried out to improve the inter communication system. Inter- nal electrification of some residential quarters at DAE Township and Medi- cal enclave, erection of a substation for It is also responsible for various con- in nature. This Division is also emergency power supply continued. struction activities in Mumbai on be- responsible for the operation and main- The Civil and Electrical Mainte- half of BARC. tenance of electrical power distribu- nance works of all quarters /public During the year of report, 104 flats tion, lifts, water supply distribution, buildings /sewage treatment plants etc. of type II-B at Anushaktinagar were sewer lines and sewage treatment were carried out satisfactorily. Im- completed. Scheme worth Rs.70 crore plant and energy conservation of the provement of electrical distribution to be completed at various sites of services in the large township at system in row type quarters and DAE establishments include projects Anushaktinagar. strengthening of street lighting system at Trombay. The Estate management continued made progress. During 2000-2001, DCS&EM to manage the DAE estate and allot- DAE Hospital continued to provide propose to execute construction ment of residential flats (8206), shops medical facilities to about 25,000 schemes worth Rs. 100 crore including including public buildings and the se- CHSS beneficiaries. It was equipped projects at Trombay Township worth curity for the DAE Estate in Mumbai. with modern facilities, and expansion Rs.30 crore. In addition, a proposal to of its Out- Patient Department con- acquire 508 ready-built flats and other 5.3 GENERAL SERVICES tinued. common facilities from Air India ORGANISATION Transport facility operated worth Rs.50 crore is under consider- The General Services Organisation smoothly and serviced commuting ation by the Department due to lim- (GSO) looks after various common employees. For improving transport ited area for additional Housing and services such as estate management, operations, preventive maintenance related infrastructure facilities at transport, civil and electrical construc- was implemented. Anushaktinagar. tion as well as maintenance, water sup- At Anupuram about 350 houses Engineering Services Division -1 ply, auto garage, hospital and other reached advanced stage of construc- & II of this Directorate maintained amenities in the DAE township at tion. residential flats (8206) and public Kalpakkam. Services and facilities buildings which are of minor capital managed by GSO during the year in

5.2 AIDED INSTITUTIONS

6.1 TATA INSTITUTE OF FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH The Institute's academic programmes are divided into three Schools: School of Mathematics, School of Natural Sciences and School of Technology & Com- puter Science. The academic programmes are backed by the state-of-the-art For promotion of research common research facilities. in the frontier areas of The School of Mathematics continued to make impressive contributions to a variety of fields. An International Colloquium on "Algebra, Arithmetic and nuclear science, mathemat- Geometry" was organised in January 2000. ics and cancer, DAE The School of Natural Sciences is composed of several departments. In the provides grants-in-aid to Department of Theoretical Physics research continued in various areas of high seven Institutions. energy physics, mathematical physics, condensed matter physics and founda- tions of quantum mechanics along with the upgradation, augmentation and di- It also provides grant-in- versification of the computational facilities. In the Department of Astronomy & aid to a society which is Astrophysics studies in far infrared astronomy continued with the 1 metre bal- engaged in providing edu- loon-borne TIFR telescope with high resolution spectroscopy. In the hard x-ray band of 20-200 KeV observations were made using Large Area Scintillation cation to the employees of Telescope. Phase A studies were completed for the future multi wavelength X- ray Astronomy Satellite. In the Department of High Energy Physics studies based on electron-positron collisions and proton-antiproton collisions contin- This Section covers activi- ued and progress was made in the cosmic ray experiments ant Ooty and Pachmarhi. The sensitivity of its torsion balances was improved by operating ties of these organisations. them at cryogenic temperatures (about 4° K). Development, fabrication and testing of new detectors for the CMS collaboration experiment for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) continued. In the Department of Nuclear & Atomic Physics exclusive studies were made of high energy gamma rays as a function of angular momentum in rare earth region. The nonlinear optical properties of organic molecules on femtosecond time scale were examined and the relaxation process was studied. Experiments were conducted in molecular dynamics, ultrafast phenomena and light & x-ray production in intense laser fields. In the Depart- ment of Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science identification was made of generic features of magnetic phase diagram of the vortex states in Overall view of the Academic Block superconductors. Magnetic and magneto-transport studies in CMR oxide sys- of the Institute of Molecular Biology at Bangalore tems as well as on intermetallic compounds were carried out. A 12 tesla magnet system for high field magneto-transport measurements was set up. Nanocrystalline oxides were synthesised and their optical and transport properties were studied. Low dimension semiconductor structures were synthesised and their electrical and optical properties were studied. Microwave transmis- sion in high T Superconductors, especially Ag-doped and Au-doped YBCO

6.1 films, at high magnetic fields at cryo- Homi Bhabha Laboratory was pre- was created to further the CERN-In- genic temperatures was studied. In the pared. Development of Audiovisual dia collaboration in ALICE (A Large Department of Chemical Sciences versions of materials was taken up. At Ion Collider Experiment). A new Can- Structural, kinetic and mechanistic the National Centre for Biological teen Complex, to operate from Janu- studies on the interaction of substrates Sciences, Bangalore the Animal House ary 11, 2000, has been added to the with cytochrome P450 and oxidases was constructed and other buildings of Campus. were carried out. A multiphoton fluo- the new campus were completed. Stud- Following is the report as to the rescence correlation spectrometer for ies of topics in Structural and Cell Bi- progress made in various disciplines studying protein dynamics, experimen- ology, Biology of Disease, Molecular vis-a-vis the targets set for the year in tal setup for quantitative measurement and Systems Neuroscience, Develop- question. of TPF and SHG of organic dyes and mental Biology and Genetics were In nuclear science, the prime ques- dye aggregates, and rudimentary FT- made. tion has been how to maximally utilise EPR were set up. In the Department At the Pelletron the full resister the available accelerator facilities. A of Biological Sciences Genetic analy- grading system was installed, terminal two-prong handling was decided. On sis of function and development of the charge state selector was developed the one hand, the excited state proper- nervous system in Drosophila was and phase pickup system was com- ties of several nuclei in the mass re- studied. Studies were made on the pleted. For the LINAC the closed cycle gion A ~ 70-80,100 were ascertained regionalisation of the vertebrate brain liquid He refrigerator was commis- and structure of near-spherical molyb- using genetic and molecular methods sioned and three superconducting denum isotopes were studied to detect in mouse. Structure function analysis modules were installed. the onset of nuclear structure deforma- of receptors, G-proteins and enzymes ii the School of Technology and tion in the mass region A-100. The and studies on role of signaling in Computer Science the theories/tools proton and neutron configurations of plants was carried out. Molecular developed for reactive programming odd-mass and odd-odd bromine nuclei analysis of DNA dynamics in repair for hardware/software codes ign were at different excitation energies etc. and recombination, regulation of sugar adapted and embedded systems were were also ascertained through heavy metabolism in yeast, characterisation specified & designed. In the area of ion reactions at NSC. In a similar re- of protective proteins during infection Computational Mathematics, efficient action of oxygen with molybdenum, with the malarial parasite, structure and implementation of software packages the fusion excitation function w^as-niea- functions of Oncogenes and ion/water for scientific computation was inves- sured to assess nuclear structure <|ep,en- transport across cellular and artificial tigated. Studies were made in the de- dence of the sub-barrier, fusion reac- membranes were some of the areas of sign of web-scripting languages and tions. Studies were also made to un- investigations.. Epidemiology and authentication of protocols used for derstand the mechanisms involved in Dental Research Unit continued the electronic commerce. A system for the emission of light particles in heavy follow up study of 1,60,000 persons telepresence and Robot-motion plan- ion reactions. Interactions of exotic cohort in Mumbai and analyzed the ning algorithms were developed. radioactive nuclei with the hydrogen data for the mortality rates according nucleus have been studied. More ex- to tobacco use status. 6.2 SAHA INSTITUTE OF periments, particularly with a radio-active isotope of beryllium, at NSC are At the National Centre for Radio NUCLEAR PHYSICS Astrophysics, Pune real time diagnos- on the cards. Theoretical studies on Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, tics and continuum imaging with fully nuclear reaction mechanisms will be entering its Golden Jubilee year on operational GMRT was achieved. continued. January 11, 2000, made impressive GMRT electronics and computational strides in research and developments On the other hand, various detec- facilities were improved. Observation in physical and biophysical sciences. tion accessories had to be devised. To was made of 21 cm hydrogen line at It published about 200 original papers this end, a multi-detector stand was different redshifts over a wide range in national and international journals. both designed and fabricated to incor- of frequencies. At the Homi Bhabha The traditional Post-MSc Teaching porate gamma detectors for the Heavy Centre for Science -Education, Programme was continued as before. Ion Beam experiments at the Variable Mumbai books (textbook, workbook, Weekly Colloquia and seminars on Energy Cyclotron Centre, Calcutta teacher book) for class V (Science) and topical issues were held regularly. An (VECC), a detector set-up was created class III (mathematics) were brought Experimental High Energy laboratory, for measuring life-times of exotic nu- out. A comprehensive manual on housing the Muon Arm Project (MAP), clei which will be tested and installed

6.2 source complete with a radiator and a radiation chamber. This will help investigate effect of microwaves on release' of neuro-transmitters in ani- mals. A binary adder utilising novel properties of DNA is designed to effect miniaturization of information processing. In Plasma Physics, significant progress was made as to the diagnostics development. Electron Cyclotron Emission Radiometer, now successfully installed, is being used to measure plasma temperature. Feedback Control System for the plasma position is nearing completion. A hard X-ray Analyser for the Tokamak is being developed. A launcher system for the lower hybrid current drive is The binding of two chymotrypsin molecules at the reactive site of the inhibitor (blue) being procured to initiate experiments by the mid-2000. Several useful ex- at Radio-active Ion Beam (RIB) facili- liquids in the "Bubble Model" frame- periments, like, Electrode Bias Experi- ties in RIKEN, Japan, and RFQ and work with several interesting results. ment and those on the runaway elec- pre-buncher systems were evolved for In nuclear and radio-chemistry, the trons were carried out using the Toka- the VECC-SINP RIB facilities. A programme of production and separa- mak with several interesting results. gamma-detector array with provision tion of medically important carrier-free Side by side, theoretical work was also for mounting upto six clover- and six radionuclides of Lanthanide and Third carried out with magnetohydrodynam- high-purity germanium- detectors, as Transition Series Elements was pur- ics relaxation and wave propagation in also a large sodium iodide (thallium sued exploiting the BARC-TIFR plasma. activated) detector for isomer-tagged Pelletron and the indigenously devel- The Theory Group made several gamma ray spectroscopy at VECC are oped ECR Ion Source at VECC. notable advances relating necleon- being assembled. Development stud- As a party to the CERN-India col- nucteon interaction, properties of ies relating the resistive read-out laboration in ALICE, the Electronic nuclear matter at high excitation in- method in low-pressure gas detectors Science Group of SINP indigenously cluding onset of chaos, nuclear liquid- are being continued. A Bent Crystal designed a VLSI chip, MANAS, to gas phase transition, transformation of Spectrometer for high-resolution help measure the charge accumulated baryonic matter into quark-gluon atomic physics work is in the pipe-line. in the detectors in the MAP. Approved plasma, etc. In nuclear astrophysics, In the field of applied nuclear phys- by the international Committee, this solar neutrino puzzle, supernova neu- ics, helium bubble formation around chip is to be delivered by a foundry- trino oscillations, oddities about neu- dislocations in implanted aluminium based Corporation at Chandigarh by tron stars under ultra-high magnetic was studied and the growth character- March, 2000. A novel optoelectronic fields, effects of R-parity violation on istics were analysed from the measured technique for ultra-accurate measure- direct CP violation in in B-decays, positron lifetimes. The low-tempera- ment of micron and sub-micron thick- neutrino mass and magnetic moment ture properties of the bubbles are pres- ness of transparent sheets has been set in super-symmetric models without R- ently being investigated. Positron an- up. A preliminary set-up for birefrin- parity, cosmology of the early universe, nihilation studies of niobium and sil- gence measurement, complete with a cosmological evolution during the in- ver nano-particles were carried out and CCD Camera, is underway. In collabo- flationary epoch, thermodynamics of the anomalous increase of free volume ration with Dr B C Roy Centre for anti-de Sitter Black Holes and charged at the interfaces with decreasing par- Neuroscience, Calcutta, the group has multi-Black Holes etc. were investi- ticle size was verified. Work is con- also designed, fabricated and delivered gated. Significant progress was made tinuing on positronium confinement in a solid state 550 MHz microwave in Quantum Chromodynamics from

6.3 the light-front approach. Solutions for Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) facil- tions were done and environmental quasi-two and three-dimensional quan- ity for characterising the nano-meter- stress-induced signalling pathways tum spin models and phase diagram sized materials. Main effort in the spec- explored. Plan for the next year envis- for t-J ladder model were exactly troscopic units will be to set up a mm ages continuation of those works in found with a view to understanding wave spectrometer for studying prop- progress. Also, attempts will be made high-temperature superconductivity. erties of materials in their vapour to crystallize proteins from disease- Quantum integrable models including phase. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance causing viruses, to effect DNA anlysis nonlinearity, relevant to optical com- Group will devote concentrated efforts of the huntingtin gene and myotonin munications and soliton formation, in upgrading the facilities including protein kinase gene and other linked were also studied. setting up of a spectrometer to reach loci among normal individuals to trace The target for the year 1999-2000 out to the domain of magnetically or- the origin of mutation. Chromosomal in condensed matter physics envisaged dered state. Transport properties will analysis by banding and chromosome on the one hand to build up facilities be investigated in Superconducting and painting, and image processing stud- for preparing and characterising novel Giant Magneto-resistance systems. In ies on cyto-skeletal shells and protein materials, and on the other, to carry out surface studies major thrust will be put aggregates etc. will be initiated. work with the facilities already on understanding the growth mecha- In radiation- and photochemistry, installed. Some equipment for surface nism of both organic and metallic mul- electron transfer reactions between and interface studies have been tilayer systems grown here. nucleic acids and nitroxides were in- acquired and are in the process of In Biophysical Science, in respect vestigated by steady-state and pulse installation. Development work relat- of the project titled "Structure Func- radiolysis, and their redox potentials ing spectroscopic studies, ion optics, tion Correlation of Biomolecules at determined by cyclic voltametry. upgradation of NMR Spectrometer etc. the Cellular and Molecular Levels", the Chemical and magneto-kinetie studies have been initiated with satisfactory sequencing of the structure of thiol on photo-induced electron transfer re- progress. In basic research, a few single proteases and WCTI was successfully actions were pursued with laser-flash crystals of metallic oxides have been carried out, and site-directed mutagen- photolysis. PH- and urea-induced de- grown and their properties studied. esis, expression and structural studies naturation of blood coagulation pro- Progress was made with synthesis of of WCI have been undertaken. Beside tein, prothrombin, were investigated. metal and alloy nano-particles of tech- this, structural studies of other phar- Effect of protein denaturants on the nological importance. Fabrication of macologically important molecules stability of microemulsions has been multilayered with advanced techniques have been taken up. Recombinant vec- studied using light scattering. Molecu- is progressing well. Substantial tor for cancer therapy and genetic dis- lar mechanism of nonsteroidal anti- advances has been made in the area of order, like hemophilia, now designed imflammatory drug interactions was growing organic films using the and constructed, are undergoing tests. spectro-scopically explored. Langmuir-Blodgett technique. The Genome analysis of huntingtin gene The Institute is currently engaged SIMS Facility, installed recently, will and muotonin protein kinase gene re- in a few national and international col- help gain on the understanding of the sponsible for neurological disorders is laborative programmes, the important growth of metallic multilayers. In poly- being carried out. Chinese hamster ones being a) SINP-VECC Projects in mer science, transport properties of homolgue of two mitochondrial gene (i) RIB and (ii) Superconducting Cy- polypyrrole-ferric oxide nano-com- fragments were isolated from radia- clotron; b) CERN-India Collaboration posites were investigated, and non-lin- tion-resistant cells. A classification in ALICE; c) Crystallography, Molecu- ear conduction properties of scheme was worked out for cellular lar Biology and Structural Biology polyaniline and EMI shielding effi- membrane clusters by microscopic Programmes funded by the Dept of ciency of polyaniline-poly(vinyl alco- image processing. Spectroscopic stud- Bio-Technology. hol) composite were explored. Side by ies to understand the nature of interac- side, theoretical studies were success- tions in the spectrin-based cytoskeletal fully carried out in magnetism, heavy- network, those of other biologically fermion systems, strongly correlated important molecules, and studies on electron systems, transport phenomena transcription initiation with the etc. Next year, it is proposed to pro- bacteriphase T7 RNA polymerase are cure a Liquid Helium Plant, a Trans- in progress. Experiments on intra-cel- mission Electron Microscope with lular calcium changes in cell popula-

6.4 6.3 TATA MEMORIAL ing. The funds were also utilised to unaided on uneven terrain. The trials CENTRE augment the Kitchen with modern on the joint with amputee patients were equipment, renovate and augment successful. The Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), Central Sterilisation and Supply De- A grant was given by the Bill and which comprises Tata Memorial Hos- partment with 4 state-of-the art Steril- Melinda Gates Foundation through the pital (TMH) and Cancer Research In- izers etc., and to augment the International Agency for Research on stitute (CRI), continued its activities in airconditioning systems for the diag- Cancer of WHO for starting a collabo- diagnosis, treatment and research in nostic and treatment areas as well as rative project on "Cervical Cancer Pre- cancer as well as in training and edu- part of the Wards. Major renovation vention" with TMH Rural Cancer cation. Following were some of the was undertaken in all the Wards, Project at Barshi. In view of the im- major activities and achievements of Rooms Patient Clinics for Physio- portance it gives to alleviation of can- the Centre during the period of this therapy and Occupational Therapy, cer in rural population TMC contin- report: Stoma Clinic, Purchase and Stores and ued its support to the project at Barshi. Security Department, Dispensary and The First Rural Outreach programme 6.3.1 TATA MEMORIAL Laundry. Renovation of Operating for early diagnosis and treatment HOSPITAL Rooms to the state-of-art level made started by the Centre at Barshi contin- The Planning Commission in rec- progress. A new Digital Library is ued by the Nargis Dutt Memorial Can- ognition of dedication and service of being set up. cer Hospital (Aswini Cancer Research TMH, approved a special grant of Rs. The Centre, had performed for the and Relief Society), Barshi with the 25.00 crore in 1998-99 and Rs. 5.00 first time in India, placement of an support of the TMC. crore in 1999-2000 for upgradation/ expandable metallic colon stent for The standard of patient care modernisation of the facilities at TMH. palliation of colon cancer, placement through higher standards in work eth- This was utilised for installation of of double stent for tracheo-esophageal ics is being strengthened further. The major equipment such as the Magnetic fistula in collaboration with thoracic Ethics Committee of the Tata Memo- Resonance Imaging, X-Ray machines, service, and Endoscopic Ultrasound rial Hospital, which also has outside Mammography, Orthopantograph guided Fine Needle Aspiration of pan- expert members from medicine and X-ray and Ultrasonography machines. creatic and mediastinal tumours. The law, critically evaluates the medical A Linear Accelerator was also installed Centre, had developed biaxial hip joint practices followed in the Hospital. and commissioned for radiation which enables the patients to squat, sit therapy. A Hydroclave Waste Man- cross legged, ride a bicycle and walk agement Facility commenced function- Clinical Activities During the year, about 22,500 new Radiotherapy with Linear Accelerator: Therapy Training & R&D are integrated at cases were registered. In addition, over the Tata Memorial Hospital 7550 Referral Cards were issued for investigations such as Mammography, Pathology etc. as shown in the Table :

Table

Lab. investigations/ 1999-2000 Clinical activities

No. of patients 22,446 registered

No. of Admissions 11,463

Pathological 7,94,901 Investigations

Microbiological 19,844 investigations continued

6.5 (ACT) Clinic, initiated in 1991, medical equipment network was Lab. investigations/ 1999-2000 continued to give psychological and planned for necessary network traffic Clinical activities rehabilitation support to patients. The isolation, and the software was modi- patient clinics for Physiotherapy, Oc- fied suitably. Y2K compliance for va- Transfusion Medicine 1,79,598 cupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, riety of medical/scientific instruments Psychology etc. extended support to was ensured. Endoscopy &Thera- 2,400 the patients for improvement in the During the ensuing year, it was peutic Endoscopy quality of life. The Stoma Clinic pro- planned to set up a modern state-of- vided comprehensive care to patients the-art Medical Digital Library with Radiological 51,166 with Stomas, Fistulas, Pressure sores, "Video Conferencing & Tele Medi- Investigations incontinence and wound healing prob- cine " facility in the Hospital. The fa- lems. cility is aimed at providing campus- Surgery 8,951 wide speedy and easy access to impor- Cancer Prevention tant information via electronic media Radiotherapy & 14,186 Thirty percent of the cancers can be and also to reach other hospitals/health Medical Physics prevented if the life-style is changed. care units for distant diagnosis, con- This can have a large economic impact sultation and bilateral medical infor- Bone Marrow 30 especially as seventy percent of the mation exchange. Transplantation patients are treated free of cost by the Under the Clinical Research Centre. Photo and poster exhibitions, Programme, TMC continued to assist Anaesthesia 22,427 lectures and audio visual shows on the clinical researchers in data manage- ill effects of tobacco and Cancer ment, data analysis and other aspects Physiotherapy 4,657 Awareness programmes were arranged of research projects. TMH continued at schools, colleges as also for the gen- epidemiological studies in respect of Occupational therapy 2,542 eral public. A special programme in- Radiation Occupational Workers and cluding radio talks on women's can- their families at nuclear power stations Speech Therapy 2,199 cers with focus on Cervix cancer, was sites in India under a research agree- arranged and free cancer detection ment with NPCIL. The Centre under- Stoma Care 1,978 services for women including pap took epidemiological studies on smear test were offered throughout gastro-intestinal tract cancers. New cases (Preven- 3,285 March 1999. On 31st May 1999, tive Oncology) which is World No Tobacco Day, pub- Academic Activities registered lic awareness programmes on Tobacco TMH published 159 scientific pa- through TV, Radio and Anti-tobacco pers in international and national jour- Beyond Therapy messages in Bus Shelter Hoarding, nals of repute. Twenty conferences/ TMC established several mecha- Movie Theatres etc. were arranged. workshops/seminars/symposia were nisms to help patients in many ways. An awareness campaign on breast can- conducted, several international/na- Guidance to as many as about cer was conducted in the month of tional conferences/workshops/semi- 13300 new patients was provided. October, which is internationally nars/ symposia etc. were participated Chemotherapy drugs at concessional recognised as 'Breast Cancer Aware- and 130. lectures were delivered. rate were given to over 4100 cases and ness Month'. TMH is a post-graduate teaching Rail/Air/ST concession forms were is- centre affiliated to the University of sued to about 66,500 patients. Modernisation & Support Mumbai, National Board of Examina- Accommodation was arranged for The Hospital remained involved in tions, New Delhi and Maharashtra about 3500 persons and transportation implementing an "integrated & on- University of Health Sciences, Nashik. was provided to over 1900 cases. line " Information System for Patient Recently, permission was also granted Guidance and Counselling were ex- Administration. Over 150 Pentium by Ministry of Health & Family Wel- tended to several patients and relatives. PCs were installed and connected onto fare to start M.Ch and DM courses in Nursing care was extending to in- the campus-wide network. The net- TMH. During the year, 42 post-gradu- door patients including Day Care work facility was also extended to a ate students were registered and 54 stu- wards. After Completion of Therapy variety of medical equipment. The dents were awarded degrees/ diplomas.

6.6 The Scientific Review Committee re- Pan Masala and Gutkha are exten- the various signals were studied. viewed and approved 19 new research sively consumed. Potential carcino- Umbilical cord blood is an impor- projects. The research activities in genic action of pan masala was shown tant i ource of stem cells which in fu- other research projects were continued. by CRI. Studies were conducted relat- ture may replace bone marrow. Meth- The Hospital is a recognised training to chemo-preventive activity of ods for collection, isolation and pres- ing Centre for cancer education and turmeric in chemically induced stom- ervation of stem cells were research by national and international ach cancers in mice, and glutathione standardised. Work was carried out to organisations such as WHO, UICC and transferase (GST) and CYP-450 gene enrich these stem cells and multiply IAEA, four WHO/IAEA fellows were loci in tobacco associated cancer pa- them in vitro. trained and under an ongoing tients. Effects of known drugs and green programme on Continuing Education Cancer of the Cervix: HPV-16 and tea polyphenols were studied for their in Oncology, 53 trainees were regis- 18 were detected in 82% of cervical ability to inhibit secondary tumour tered for various courses. cancer, 80% low grades squamous growth." 4' dimethylepipodophyll- intraepithelial lesions and 14% normal otoxin" was synthesized by a new 6.3.2 CANCER RESEARCH scrapings. Experiments were carried method and patent application was INSTITUTE to augment tumour specific immune filed. Derivatives of this drug have The research work at the Cancer response in cervical cancer patients. been prepared for testing their anti-tu- Research Institute (CRI) continued to Familial Cancers : Breast cancer mour activity. focus on basic studies on cancers in a small percentage of patients, show Studies of Viruses : Human Her- important to India. These studies a familial pattern. Studies undertaken pes Virus (HHV-6) was detected in the covered a wide area from mutations in on patients and unaffected family plasma of 14 cases of bone marrow oncogenes and tumour suppressor members showed lower immune activ- transplant. Chronic hepatitis B patients genes in relation to pre-cancer and ity in unaffected individuals. Molecu- and patients with hepatocellular carci- cancer, gene therapy of oral cancers, lar typing of the patients and their fami- nomas (HCC) showed integration of immune cells involved in destruction lies for HLA Class-1 alleles was taken hepatitis B virus (HBV) with truncated of tumours, and the association of up to see if particular type is associ- HB-X gene. Full length HBx DNA human papilloma (HPV) and herpes ated with familial breast cancer. was seen in other patients. These ob- virus (HHV) in cervical, oral and Leukemia /Lymphoma: Leukemic servations may have a prognostic oesophageal cancers. Tobacco is a cells in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia value. major risk factor for cancers in India. (CML) patients show defective func- The cancer risk due to occupational tion. The mechanism of these defects ACTREC Project exposure of workers in tobacco indus- were under investigation. Lymphomas The Advanced Centre for Research, try is indicated by environmental and also form major group of cancers. In- Treatment and Education in Cancer biomonitoring, Chemo-prevention is duction of cell death and the role of (ACTREC) being set up by the TMC being proposed as an important strat- egy for cancer control. In experimen- CRI building for ACTREC at Taloja. tal studies, curcumin, a common ingredient of turmeric appears to show promise as a chemo-preventive agent. Head and Neck Cancers : One of the major focus of research renamed the head and neck cancer the number one cancer in India. The aim is to define changes in oral pre-cancer and cancer for early diagnosis and prog- nosis Oral pre-cancers and cancers showed over expression and inactiva- tion ofp53 and APC. Pre-clinical studies on gene therapy of oral cancers showed a significant decrease in viable tumour volume. at Owe Village, Navi Mumbai, will address to important issues relating to basic cancer research (as relevant to In- dia), clinical cancer research and professional cancer education which can THE MEHTA li^EARCH INSTITUTE OF augment and improve standards of pro- MATHEMATI'S&MAT"=JWTK«.if'$ICS fessional cancer care across the country. Infrastructure for the Project was developed. Construction of the Research Centre Building, Animal House and Service Building was completed, construction of Ward Block reached completion and construction of Clinical Research Cen- tre Building commenced. The 2nd phaSe of tree plantation has been completed. Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi, Computing Facilities 6.4 MEHTA RESEARCH besides those of the faculty. The latest communication facilities of modern computing through INSTITUTE OF MATH- Conferences/ Symposia Internet and VSNL, together with a EMATICS & MATHEMATI- The Institute organised workshop very good library, were used by the CAL SCIENCES on "String Theory" during October Institute's staff and students and those Academic Activities 18- November 18, 1999 in which 30 from universities and colleges in the During the year under report, re- scientists from various parts of the Northern belt. search work in Pure Mathematics cov- country as well as abroad participated. ering number theory, algebraic, geom- Earlier, inaugural function of the 6.5 THE INSTITUTE OF etry, coding theory and analysis were Rajbhasha Golden Jubilee year was MATHEMATICAL continued. Similarly in theoretical also celebrated on September 14,. 1999. SCIENCES physics, research work in Mathemati- The Institute of Mathematical Sci- cal Physics, .High Energy Physics, ences (IMSc) inaugurated in 1962 is a Awards Condensed Matters and Astrophysics national institution of higher learning Prof. Ashoke Sen was awarded was continued. Lectures and Semi- which fosters high quality fundamen- DAE's Homi Bhabha Chair. Two other nars were organised throughout the tal research in frontier disciplines of scientists of MRI were awarded year to expose researchers in Math- mathematical sciences. It aims at dis- Swarnjayanti Fellowship by the De- ematics /Theoretical Physics to the seminating knowledge and share in- partment of Science and Technology, newer ideas and developments in vari- formation and thereby cultivate intel- Govt.of India, in Mathematics and ous fields of these disciplines. A num- lectual collaboration with peers inside Physics respectively. ber of academicians from reputed in- and outside the country. It also at- stitutes from within the country as well tempts to stimulate a zest for creative Construction as abroad visited the Institute and col- work among students and young re- The Institute has already completed laborated their research work with the search workers in the country. members of the Institute. construction of various buildings in- The three major areas of research cluding Library, Hostel, residences for of the Institute are: Theoretical Phys- its academic and non-academic staff Nurture & Contact Programme ics, Mathematics, and Theoretical under Phase I-A. The construction The Institute conducted the third Computer Science. work under Phase 1 -B for other build- course under the Nurture & Contact At present there are 44 members on Programme sponsored by NBHM, ings including Institute's main Admin- istrative Block made good progress. the faculty with 14 Post Doctoral during the last summer, with guest fellows and 35 Ph.D. Students. speakers from Riwa University and

6.8 The output of the Institute is basi- library has been functioning as a Awards cally publications in journals of inter- Regional library catering to the needs The Institute faculty won several national repute, presentations in inter- of research scholars and scientists. The honours and awards, A Professor of national conferences by way of invited on-line version of the Mathematical IMSc was awarded (posthumously) lectures and contributed papers and Reviews data base (known as Math Sci Shanti Swamp Bhatnagar Award for research monographs. Net) was installed. The OPAC (On Mathematical Sciences. The Institute organised / co-spon- line Public Access Catalogue) module sored the following national / interna- installed in the library computer sys- 6.6 INSTITUTE FOR tional conferences / workshops : tem enabled users to retrieve full PLASMA RESEARCH - Orientation course in Theoretical information about books / journals The Institute for Plasma Research Computer Science they require. The Institute maintains (IPR) founded in 1986, is committed a mirror e-print archive - Cluster Supercomputer Meeting to the development of nuclear fusion (xxx.imsc.ernet.in) of the original at - International Conference on Foun- as a futuristic energy source. The ma- the Los Alamos National Laboratory dations of Software Technology and jor activities of the Institute concen- and provides a ready access to all pre- Theoretical Computer Science trate on experiments and future devel- printed publication in areas of research - Sixth International Workshop on opments of Tokamak reactor concept, of IMSc. High Energy Physics Phenomenology programmmes related to the theoreti- (WHEPP-6) The Institute conducts the follow- cal and experimental work on funda- The Institute faculty participated in ing programmes to inculcate the spirit mental plasma physics, application of several symposia / conferences inside of fundamental research in young stu- the plasma science to industrial tech- and outside India. Many internation- dents and aspiring teachers: nologies, and development of tech- ally reputed scientists visited IMSc for - Summer Programme for college nologies required for nuclear fusion. collaboration work with the scientists students The projects under implementation of the Institute and to give lectures, - NBHM Nurture Programme are : (i) Advanced plasma research - seminars and colloquia. - Apalat Fellowship to encourage Steady-state Superconducting Toka- bright B.Sc. students to take up mak-1 (SST1), (ii) Fundamental physics or mathematics for higher International Collaboration research/experiments, Plasma process- studies. The following international col- ing & Aditya Tokamak upgrade, and laborative projects were underway: - Institute Associateships for teach- (iii) Technology development. - Indo-Russian Integrated Long ers from colleges and universities to During the year 1999-2000, in the Term Programme of Science and Tech- visit and work at the Institute. area of Steady-state Superconducting nology Tokamak-1 (SST1), a major order for - Federation arrangement with Abdus Salam International Centre for Testing of Radiofrequency Klystron Tube at the Institute for Plasma Research Theoretical Physics at Trieste, Italy. - DST-DAAD Projects in Theoreti- cal Computer Science. This project involves both IMSc and University of Ulm, Germany.

Computerisation During this year, there was further strengthening of the Institute's computer system in terms of hardware, software and internet services. A Clus- ter Super Computer System was made available to users. This was assembled with the hardware and software pub- licly available in the market through indigenous innovation. The Institute's fully computerized

6.9 manufacturing of machine shell was ment, the activities related to technol- elected as a Fellow of the Indian Acad- placed on M/s Bharat Heavy ogy and prototype development of emy of Sciences. Electricals Ltd (Bhopal & Trichi). The systems and devices. fabrication activity progressed during 6.8 ATOMIC ENERGY 1999-2000. It is expected that the de- 6.7 INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SOCIETY tailed engineering design of some of PHYSICS The Atomic Energy Education So- the auxiliary systems such as water The Institute of Physics IOP at ciety (AEES) established in 1969 man- cooling, power supplies, RF systems Bhubaneswar is an autonomous ages 30 schools/Junior colleges at 14 will be completed this year. Testing of research institution founded jointly by different centres in the country. A num- RF-Klystron Tube, which will be used DAE and the Government of Orissa for ber of steps were taken in enforcing in a lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) promotion of fundamental research in discipline, introducing accountability, system of SST1, was completed. frontier areas of Physics. selecting promoting teachers and tight- Preparation for testing of RF-Gyrotron ening of promotion norms for students tube and implementation of ion cyclo- Research Activities to improve the academic standards of tron resonance heating (ICRH) system The main areas of research consist our schools. were progressing. Techno-commercial of theoretical and experimental stud- discussions continued for other auxil- After formation of the Academic ies. So far as theoretical side is con- iary systems of SST1. Unit in the Central Office, notable cerned, research is conducted in progress was recorded in strengthen- In the area of Fundamental re- Nuclear Physics, Condensed Matter ing primary schools, improving inter- search. Plasma processing and Aditya Physics and High Energy Physics. In action among the teachers, students Tokamak upgrade, commissioning of experimental side, research is carried and community, introducing comput- large volume plasma device (LVPD) on in Condensed Matter Physics. ers and vocational education, assisting system was completed and experi- There is an Ion Beam Laboratory with poor learners and gifted students, im- ments progressed. Part of upgradation 3 MV Pelletron Accelerator for doing proving playground facilities by in- of the Aditya Tokamak, data acquisi- research. This has been augmented for stalling equipment, arranging work- tion system and pulsed power supply carrying out Accelerator-based Mass shops, seminars and orientation prog- systems (PPS) made progress. Design Spectrometry (AMS) studies in Car- rammes for teachers, enriching the and implementation of Aditya Toka- bon-14 and Beryllium. This Project is school libraries and improving library mak ohmic power supply system up funded by the DAE, DST, DOS, and services in all its schools, streamlin- gradation to suit SST1 needs were also CSIR. ing vocational education especially for initiated. Pulsed power experimental About 100 papers were published the drop out students by starting development setup for. fast capacitor in reputed international journals in ad- Refrigeration and Beauty Culture bank-6 kJ energy and long-term devel- dition to those presented in conferences Courses, conducting an All India Art opments of 1.2 MJ capacitor bank were & symposia. and Science exhibition, and many progressing. Setting up of Facilitation other programmes in sports, co-cur- Centre for Industrial Plasma Technolo- Collaborations ricular activities, NCC etc, etc. gies (FCIPT) at Gandhinagar, was IOP had participated in Ultra-Rela- undergoing, to promote a number of The AEC Schools and Junior tivistic Heavy ION Collision Experi- industrial ventures, which will convert Colleges at Narora, Hyderabad, ment WA-98 at CERN. It has also the IPR knowledge base into products, Rawatbhata and Kakrapar were joined the ALICE experiment at LHC. processes and services predominantly inspected with the help of reputed There are two experimental projects based on plasma technologies such as experts from outside the organisation. under Indo-U.S. collaborations and one surface characterization facilities, ni- Follow-up action is in progress to over- is under Indo-French collaboration. triding facilities, and large plasma ion come the shortcomings noted during The Indo-US collaborations are related implantation facilities. In addition, the inspection of these schools. to the development of a micro-beam development of compact plasma As part of DAE's commitment, the facility and a joint collaboration regard- torches and plasma based medical AEES adopted 9 children (age group ing surface physics activity using both waste treatment technologies was also 7-10 year) from the rural areas and the accelerator & the X-ray standing in progress. The FCIPT set up will be provided them with monthly scholar- wave facility. continued during 2000-01. ship, in addition to books and uniforms Awards These children were identifed by con- Under the Technology Develop- A faculty member of IoP was ducting a talent search test in collabo-

6.10 ration with Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education. The students from Class VI to IX and the NCC cadets participated in maintaining clean and green surround- ings around their schools and planted 2000 saplings. Horticulture Day and Horticulture Week was celebrated at a few centres to bring an awareness of environmental protection among the students. The students of AEC Schools collected funds for the relief of families of the victims of the Kargil War and Orissa Cyclone. The results in the Board examinations conducted in the year 1999 as follows : 82% of the 1735 students who Students undergoing physical training at the Atomic Energy Central School-5, appeared in the All India Secondary Mumbai School Examination conducted by the CBSE passed the examination. Many of them passed with distinction. Simi- larly, 85 % of the 1643 students who appeared in Standard XII passed the examinations. The AEJC, Mumbai ranked fourth by securing six positions in the merit list in the Maharashtra State Board of Second- ary and Higher Secondary examinations. Five students from AEJC, Mumbai were delcared successful in the IIT, and about 240 students secured admissions to other engineering and medical colleges. A large number of students throughout the AEES system as well as several staff members of the teaching community distinguished them- selves in the academic field as well as Dr. R. Chidambaram, Chairman, AEC inaugurating the Computer Lab in Atomic in sports, NCC and co-curricular Energy Central School-4, Mumbai activities, a girl student of Std.Xl from AEJC, Mumbai was awarded a cash prize of Rs. One Lakh in "SA RE GA MA" programme conducted by ZEE TV Pvt. Ltd. The AECS, Narora has been adjudged the 'Best School' in the U.S.O. and G.K. examination conducted by the Central Institute of Gen- eral Knowledge, New Delhi.

6.11 OTHER ACTIVITIES

7.1 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS India has been a designated member of the Board of Governors of the IAEA Activities of DAE since the inception of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). India covered in this chapter are: continued to offer training facilities, fellowships, scientific visits etc. and to International Relations; make available the services of its scientists for expert assignments both through Support to Research in the IAEA and to countries with which we have entered into bilateral agree- Nuclear Sciences and ments for cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy. Mathematics, and Aided About 474 scientists/engineers participated in international symposia, work- Institutes; Management shops and conferences held under the auspices of various UN and other interna- Services; Emergency Planning; tional organisations as also the IAEA. 58 foreign scientists have been trained in India under IAEA fellowships programme and bilateral agreements signed be- Use of Hindi; Public tween Government of India and other countries. India also hosted 16 IAEA Awareness; Library & meetings, symposia and 10 other international meetings during 1999-2000. Information; Human Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and Secretary, DAE led the Resources Development; Indian delegation to the 43rd Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference Industrial Relations, and held in Vienna, Austria during September 1999. Bilateral discussions were held Employees' Welfare. with a number of other delegations participating in the Conference. Arrangement between the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and the Nuclear Installation Safety Direc- torate (DSIN) of French Republic for the exchange of information and cooperation in the regulation of Nuclear Safety was signed on July 29, 1999. Having achieved a comprehensive development in nuclear technology for many years now, we are in a position to offer technology as well as equipment to other countries on a commercial basis. Concerted efforts are being made to publicise our expertise for the purpose of export of technology and equipment for peaceful applications of nuclear energy.

7.2 S RES] SCIENCES AND

DAE promotes research and development activities in the universities and other institutions of higher learning for Variable Energy Microtron the growth of nuclear and allied sciences through the Board of Research in Facility .The Centre for Advanced Nuclear Sciences (BRNS). BRNS also sponsors conferences, symposia, work- Technology (CAT) and BARC collabo- shops and seminars on topics of relevance to DAE programmes. rated with Mangalore University to During this period under report 5 post-doctoral fellows were selected under accomplish this project. Dr. K.S. Krishnan Research Associateship. Visiting Scientist Scheme was also initiated under which scientists from universities interact with DAE scientists.

7.1 As a part of DAE-University Col- the current areas of modern mathemat- institutions. laboration BRNS approved setting up ics. Six national and eight International of a Centre for Formal Design and conferences were partially supported SI. Name of the Budget Verification of Software at IIT- by NBHM. No. Institution Provision Bombay, Mumbai, 8 projects for con- During the year 14 young math- 1999-2000 ducting coordinated study on thermal ematicians were provided with travel ^Rs. in crore) ecology and a project for setting up a support to participate in International 1. Tata Institute of LOCA Environment Simulation and Conferences. Thirteen Research Fundamental Aging Test Facility for large compo- Projects in mathematics were finan- Research, Mumbai 86.39 nents. A proposal for setting up a " cially supported at a total cost of 2. Tata Memorial National Centre for Fast Reaction Ki- Rs.16 lakh. Centre, Mumbai 69.80 netics" at the University of Pune, Pune With a view to spot talent at a very 3. Saha Institute of was also approved. young age, NBHM conducts Olym- Nuclear Physics, The Board also approved financial piad contests at plus two (+2) level, Calcutta 31.80 assistance for 83 new project propos- NBHM is also responsible for select- 4. Institute of Physics, als, renewed 128 ongoing projects and ing the Indian Team for participation Bhubaneshwar 6.90 supported 70 symposia/ conferences. in International Mathematical Olym- 5. Institute of piad (IMO). A team of six students Mathematical Sciences, Chennai 5.93 participated in IMO-99 held in Roma- The National Board for Higher 6. Mehta Research Mathematics (NBHM) was constituted nia during July 1999 and won three Institute, Allahabad 6.98 under the DAE in the year 1983 with Silver and three Bronze medals. 7. Institute for Plasma the objective of promoting excellence NBHM provides an annual grant of Research, Gandhinagar 30.80 in higher mathematics education and Rs.30 lakh for these activities. The 8. Atomic Energy research in the country. With this man- successful students in the Olympiad Education Society, date the Board has initiated several Contests are nurtured for the succeed- Mumbai 7.75 schemes such as helping the developing four years and cash prizes are ment of mathematical centres, giving awarded to students whose progress is With the objective of improving the scholarships to research workers at satisfactory. Cancer Control Measures in the coun- doctoral and post-doctoral levels. In UNESCO has declared the year try , the Department has also been pro- 1999-2000 an annual budget of about 2000 as World Mathematical Year viding financial assistance to some of Rs.4.8 crore was allotted to NBHM. (WMY). Several new activities will the leading cancer centers in the coun- A major portion of the budget of commence. try. The Department has approved six NBHM is given to the mathematics Atomic Energy Education Society new research projects for the Cancer departments of about eighty universi- (AEES), Mumbai provides education Institute, Adyar, Chennai by giving a ties and colleges to enable them to pur- to the children of the employees of the grant-in-aid of Re. 1 crore each year for chase the latest books and mathemat- DAE and its affiliated institutions. To three years. During the year financial ics journals. During the year under re- improve standard of teaching, achieve assistance was granted to cancer port about 3.50 crore was distributed academic excellence and promote research institutes/hospitals as given under this scheme. In collaboration experimentation and innovation in the below: with the International Mathematical schools, the AEES has taken up a Union, NBHM has also initiated project "Infrastructure Development 1. Dr.B.Borooah Cancer Rs71 lakh schemes for making mathematical lit- for achieving Excellence in AEES Institute, Guwahati erature accessible through electronic schools" at an estimated cost of 2. Cancer Institute,Adyar, Rs83 lakh communication Rs.2.43 crore during the IX Plan Chennai period. 3. Kamala Nehru Rs3.81 lakh During the year, NBHM provided Memorial Hospital, about seven new fellowships at doc- Allahabad toral level and three at post-doctoral 7.3 GRANT-IN-AID TO 4.Siddhivinayak Rs20 lakh level. Like every year, this year also it INSTITUTIONS Ganapati Cancer conducted three Instructional Confer- Hospital, Miraj The Department provides substan- ences to train young students at post- 5.R.C.C., Rs40 lakh tial amount by way of recurring and graduate level and research workers in Thiruvanthapuram. non-recurring grants to its aided

7.2 Miscellaneous: The Department has Department. The Management Ser- above these, as a measure of ensuring approved a collaborative project titled vices Group was actively involved in public confidence, the public authori- "Nuclear & Biotechonological Tools in tackling the Y2K issue both as part of ties of the district where the nuclear Coastal System Research" undertaken the Department's Y2K Task Force and power stations are located, have also by M.S.Swaminathan Research Foun- in maintaining communication links put in place comprehensive Off Site dation (MS SRF) at an estimated cost between the Crises Management Emergency Response Plans. An inde- of Rs.3 crore for the period from Group, DAE and the various operat- pendent regulatory authority - the 1999-2000. A Joint DAE-MSSRF ing plants during the rollover period. Atomic Energy Regulatory Board project is designed to address the All the Y2K remediation activities (AERB) is vested with formal powers issues of ecological and livelihood across all the units of the Department, to oversee implementation of the safety security of the coastal region. Several were monitored and coordinated in the requirements at the nuclear power activities have been initiated for Secretariat by the Management Ser- plants and other facilities. In addition, enhancing the agricultural productiv- vices Group. In addition, the Group the Department has also established a ity and livelihood security of the coastal continued to maintain the information Crisis Management Group (CMG) communities in a participatory eco- base on the performance of various comprising senior officials of the technology approach. The ongoing operating units and prepared periodic Department to function as a nodal and project also intends to develop models information reports to the Prime Min- coordinating agency vis-a-vis the Off for sustainable natural resources man- ister and the Atomic Energy Commis- Site Emergency Management officials agement and development in sion. It also prepared the Annual during such situations. A reliable com- Kudankulam, a semi-arid region with Action Plan and prepared the back- munication infrastructure is available severe water scarcity. The Project also ground papers for the reviews on the to the CMG for this purpose. This aims at exploring the benefits of performance of various Public Sector includes multiple channels like wire- "Application of Rare Earth in Agricul- Undertakings under the DAE. The less, telephone, facsimile and telex, ture". The amount is spread over a MSG also continued to provide sup- with direct links to the nuclear facili- period of 4 years with an annual port to the CMG, DAE for carrying ties through two Emergency Control release of Rs.75 lakh. out its functions. Rooms in Mumbai, which are manned During the current year, financial on a 24 hours / 7 days / 52 weeks basis. As a means of ensuring that the assistance granted to MSSRF is 7.5 EMERGENCY Rs.73.94 lakh Emergency Plans are in a high state of PREPAREDNESS readiness, the nuclear facilities carry The design of nuclear facilities out a variety of Exercises for the pos- 7.4 MANAGEMENT require that fail-safe systems are tulated emergency scenarios. The SERVICES adopted wherever critical safety aspects exercises conducted during the year During the year, the Management are involved and thereby ensure that 1999 by the major facilities are given Services Group (MSG) continued to accidents do not take place in the first in the table below: provide Local Area Network (LAN) instance. Further, even if an accident services to the DAE Secretariat. This were to take place, features are incor- S.No. Type of Nos. conducted network now functions on a round the porated to minimise its effects. De- Exercise in 1999 clock basis. The MSG arranged for the pending on the severity of an assumed provision of leased line connectivity accident, the resulting scenarios are to the Internet for the Secretariat. This defined as a Plant Emergency or a Site facility enables the senior officials to Emergency. Under both these condi- 1. Communication acquire information from the Internet tions, the consequences of an accident Exercises 155 at any point of time. The Internet con- would be limited either to the plant 2. Fire Emergency nectivity also enabled the Department facility or to the site boundary, and Exercises 47 to put up a website through which in- therefore would not spill into the pub- 3. Plant Emergency formation on the DAE and its activi- lic domain. The various operating units Exercises 30 ties are disseminated to the public. The of DAE have drawn up comprehen- 4. Site Emergency website functions as the web informa- sive Emergency Preparedness and Re- Exercises 8 tion portal for atomic energy activities sponse Plans to handle postulated 5. Off Site in India and provides links to the emergency scenarios like a Plant Emer- Emergency websites of other organisations in the gency and a Site Emergency. Over and Exercises 5

7.3 The five Off Site Emergency Exer- In addition to the monitoring by the posted on the DAE home page and the cises were carried out in the public DAE Action Group, the independent NIC Website. By the first day of the domain surrounding the nuclear power regulatory authority - the Atomic En- new year all the units of the Depart- stations at Tarapur, Kalpakkam and ergy Regulatory Board (AERB) - also ment had confirmed their continued Kaiga and the heavy water plants at reviewed the implementation of Y2K safe normal operations into the year Rawatbhatta and Manuguru. In each of readiness programmes with regard to 2000. these, a large number of State govern- ensuring safety in all the operations of ment officials and various nuclear the units of DAE. 7.7 USE OF HINDI power station personnel were involved The objectives of the Y2K resolu- The Department is a research ori- in conducting the exercise. tion programme in DAE were to en- ented organization and the working of During the year, guidelines were sure: (i) continued safety in all its it is mainly scientific and technical in also circulated to the State Govern- operations; (ii) continued operations / nature. The literature in such a high ments and Union Territories for han- production / scientific work, and tech area of nuclear science is not avail- dling the presence or suspected pres- (iii) continuance of all administrative able in Hindi. However, with the ence of nuclear materials in the public and other support functions. objective to promote the use of domain. The Y2K readiness programme at Rajbhasha Hindi in the various disci- each of the units covered critical plines of nuclear science and technol- aspects such as detailed inventory ogy, the DAE and its Units continued preparation and assessment, to hold seminars and talks on diverse remediation (including retirement, subjects as in the past. Some of the During the year, the various units replacement, modification or work highlights of the activities are detailed of DAE - comprising its constituent around), auditing and contingency below. units, Public Sector Units and Aided planning. Particular attention was paid Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Institutions, numbering 22, ensured to both computer based systems and Y2K readiness with respect to their organized seminars on Manav Swas- embedded components at the nuclear thya Shrinkhla Ke Antergat " Gurde respective functions. Due to the power stations, research reactors and nature of their activities, there was a Avam Yakrit Rog Aur Unki Roktham" other nuclear facilities. An estimated and "Parmannu Urja Karykram - Ek high degree of Y2K awareness in the 15,000 man-days of effort by in-house organisations of DAE and some of Samiksha". Besides the centre also personnel and an amount of Rs.7.8 organized a Rajbhasha Varta. them had started the work on ensuring crore was spent in the entire Depart- Nuclear Fuel Complex organized a Y2K readiness from mid-1998 itself. ment towards resolving Y2K related scientific seminar on "Nabhikiye However, the setting up of the national issues. high level Y2K Action Force by the Endhan Abhilakshan Avam Gunvatta Government was instrumental in struc- While continued safety in opera- Niyantran". Centre for Advanced turing the response system throughout tions had been ensured, contingency Technology organized one-day Hindi the Department. Of importance was plans, to handle any unanticipated Seminars on "Soochna Praudyogiki" the fact that national high level Y2K Y2K related problem, had also been and "Syncrotron Vikiran Srot Indus-1 Action Force had identified "Atomic drawn up by the various units. These Ki Vaigyanik Tatha Audyogik Anus- Energy" as one of the eleven mission were in place well in time before the andhan Suvidhayein". Directorate of critical sectors in the country for end of the year 1999. These plans Purchase & Stores, Directorate of Con- ensuring Y2K readiness. The DAE set included aspects like provision of ad- struction, Services & Estate Manage- up a Y2K Action Group chaired by its ditional manpower, material ment, Heavy Water Board, Nuclear Additional Secretary. This Action resources, standby systems, etc. Power Corporation, Atomic Energy Group monitored the implementation Within an hour following the mid- Regulatory Board and Board of of Y2K resolution by all the night of December 31, 1999 all the Radiation & Isotope Technology, 22 organisations of the DAE, each of major units such as Nuclear Power Sta- jointly organized a Hindi Seminar on which formed its own Task Force. The tions, Heavy Water Plants and other "Sahitya Vigyan Avam Darshan Ke progress of Y2K resolution was moni- nuclear facilities, confirmed their safe Vividh Paksh". Uranium Corporation tored by the heads of the organisations, and continued normal operations to the of India Limited organized a Hindi to whom additional financial powers DAE Emergency Control Room at Seminar on "Shramik Shiksha were also delegated for this purpose. Mumbai. Information about this was Sambandhi". communicated to IAEA and also One-day scientific seminars were

7.4 organized by Narora Power Station and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Di- rapher were given incentives. Hindi Rajasthan Atomic Power Station also. rectorate of Atomic Minerals Explo- workshops were organized at the Progress was made in the imple- ration and Research, Atomic Energy DAE, Nuclear Fuel Complex, Elec- mentation of the Official Language Regulatory Board, Electronics Corpo- tronics Corporation of India Limited, Policy of the Union in other areas also ration of India Limited, Centre for Heavy Water Board, Heavy Water in the Department and its constituent Advanced Technology, Nuclear Fuel Plant, Manuguru, Tuticorin, Director- Units as well as in the PSUs. In-ser- Complex, Heavy Water Board and ate of Construction, Services and vice training in Hindi, Hindi typewrit- Heavy Water Plant, Manuguru, Estate Management, Board of Radia- ing and stenography was imparted to Baroda, Tuticorin etc. published their tion Isotope Technology, Centre for 486 officials, 71 typists and 16 stenog- House Magazines bilingually/Hindi. Advance Technology, Atomic Energy raphers. 347 officials, 65 typists and Directorate of Atomic Minerals Explo- Regulatory Board, Directorate of Pur- 39 stenographers are undergoing train- ration and Research, Indira Gandhi chase and Stores, Directorate of ing in Hindi Language, Hindi typewrit- Centre for Atomic Research and Atomic Minerals Exploration and ing and Hindi stenography. At present, Nuclear Fuel Complex, also brought Research, Hyderabad, Shillong, the number of Devnagari typewriters out souvenirs in Hindi on the proceed- Nagpur, Nuclear Power Corporation and bilingual electronic typewriters ings of the seminars organised by them. of India Limited, Indira Gandhi Cen- being used in the Department and its The Hindi Vigyan Sahitya Parishad, a tre for Atomic Research and Indian Units/PSUs is 258 and 85 respectively. voluntary organisation of BARC, pub- Rare Earths Limited. The use of these typewriters is being lished a popular Hindi quarterly bul- The Department and its Units and decreased gradually and the use of letin "Vaigyanik". Booklets/pamphlets PSUs represent in their respective computer is being increased. Now the on various subjects related to DAE's Town Official Language Implementa- number of bilingual softwares to be activities were also brought out by tion Committees and implement the used in personal computers has in- DAE and BARC in Hindi. decisions taken in these meetings in creased from 229 to 237. There are To encourage employees to use their offices. Centre for Advanced some bilingual electronic telex ma- Hindi in official work, Hindi Day/ Technology, Indore of this Department chines also in the Department, but due Hindi Week/Hindi Fortnight/Hindi is conducting the Indore Town Offi- to increased use of fax machines their Month were organised in the Depart- cial Language Committee. The Direc- use is becoming less. ment of Atomic Energy, Indira Gandhi tor of the Centre is Chairman of this The Official Language Implemen- Centre for Atomic Research, Heavy Town Official Language Committee. tation Committee of the Department, Water Board, Heavy Water Plant, This year two meetings of the Com- Units and Public Sector Undertakings Kota, Baroda, Tuticorin and Talcher, mittee were conducted and committee met to review the position regarding Atomic Minerals Directorate for also brought out a sticker with the use of Hindi. Action continued to be Exploration and Research, Uranium words "Rajbhasha Swaran Jayanti". taken to implement the provisions of Corporation of India Limited, Indian The committee has honoured the sci- the Official Languages Act. All Rare Earths Limited, Electronics Cor- entists of Indore. Likewise, the Gen- Gazette Notifications. Cabinet Notes, poration of India Limited, Centre for eral Manager of Heavy Water Plant, Reports and other documents submit- Advanced Technology, Nuclear Fuel Tuticorin is Chairman of Tuticorin ted to various Committees were pre- Complex, Directorate of Construction, Town Official Language Committee. pared bilingually. Services and Estate Management, Four meetings of these Town Official The quarterly Hindi Bulletin Directorate of Purchase and Stores, Language Committee have been con- "Parmanu" which is brought out by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and ducted successfully. DAE to disseminate information about Nuclear Power Corporation of India This year, the Department inspected its research and development activities, Limited and its Power Stations, Mehta five Units, one Aided Institution and plans and programmes entered its Institute of Mathematics, Atomic En- nine sub-units/offices to evaluate the twenty fourth year of publications. Di- ergy Education Society and Atomic status of the progressive used of the rectorate of Construction, Services and Energy Regulatory Board. Under the official language. The Department has Estate Management, BRIT, Rajasthan Incentive Scheme for writing original inspected all its sections twice at the Atomic Power Station, Narora Atomic notes and drafts in Hindi, 138 officials interval 3-4 months. Power Station, Kakrapar Atomic were given incentives. Under the In- In addition to getting prepared the Power Station, Tarapur Atomic Power centive Scheme for Hindi typing and sticker issued-by the Department of Station, Madras Atomic Power Station, stenography, 13 typists and one stenog- Official Language on the occasion of

7.5 Rajbhasha Swaran Jayanti Year, the DAE has got prepared rubber stamps of "Rajbhasha Swaran Jayanti Varsh - 1999-2000" and posters depicting the sayings of learned persons related to official language. At present the DAE has one Joint Director (OL), one Deputy Director (OL) and two Assistant Director (OL), one Senior Hindi Translator and three Junior Hindi Translators. Units and PSUs of the DAE also have three posts of Deputy Director (OL), two posts of Manager (OL), one post of Senior Hindi Officer, 13 posts of Assistant Director (OL), two posts of Deputy Manager (OL), two posts of Asstt. Manager (OL), two posts of Hindi Officer, one post of Deputy Hindi Officer, nine posts of Senior Hindi Chairman AEC with the participants of the Journalists' Workshop Translators and 51 posts of Junior Hindi Translators. Besides, out of the the Indian Science Congress Associa- nized by the India Trade Promotion Aided Institutions of the Department tion and hosted by Pune University, Organization (ITPO) at New Delhi in there is one post each in four Institu- Pune, was held in January 2000. Co- January 2000. DAE exhibited it's tions. inciding with ISC-2000, an exhibition achievements in the fields of Nuclear Meetings of the Official Language - Heralding the New Millennium was Agriculture, Tissue Culture, Biotech- Implementation Committee of IGC organized. With theme as "The saga nology, Pheromones and their appli- were held regularly and decisions taken of Technology Development, Demon- cations in weevil control and sericul- were implemented. A "Hindi Fort- stration and Deployment", DAE pre- ture, radiation processing of food night" and Hindi Workshop were sented a vivid picture of the whole items, osmotic dehydration of fruits organised during September 1999. gamut of its programmes and activi- etc. Over 25000 people visited the Translation of Gazette notifications ties including Nuclear Power, Produc- exhibition. regarding appointment, promotions, tion of Radioisotopes and their appli- Two workshops were organised by retirement and verification reports cations in various sectors , Advanced DAE in Mumbai for journalists of was done. As a part of the Hindi Technologies, Spin-off Technologies leading newspapers - one for the In- teaching scheme, Hindi typewriting and National Security. An added at- dian Science Writers Association course was conducted for two employ- traction was a section on Cancer Edu- (ISWA) in April 1999 and the other for ees. cation. Over 2.5 lakh people visited the members from the National Union of pavilion. Journalists (NUJ) in September 1999. 7.8 PUBLIC AWARENESS Another major event where DAE The participants were shown various DAE continued its efforts in took part was the Swadeshi Vigyan DAE facilities. spreading awareness on the peaceful Mela- an exhibition with the theme as With a focus on enhancing aware- applications of atomic energy among Science for Sustainable Development- ness among the academic community, the public and kept them abreast with organized by the Vigyan Bharathi, Stu- DAE participated in two seminars for India's progress in this field. To dents for Development and Centre postgraduate science teachers. The first achieve the objective, it organized and Bharatiya Marketing Development at one, which was the Fifth National participated in several programmes IIT Delhi in February 2000. The exhi- Seminar on Peaceful uses of Atomic which included quiz, essay contests, bition attracted more than one lakh Energy, was organized in conjunction exhibitions, workshops and seminars. visitors. with the United Schools International The 87th session of the Indian Sci- DAE was a participant in the (USI) at New Delhi in September ence Congress ISC-2000 organized by KRISHI-EXPO 2000 exhibition orga- 1999. The second seminar on Appli-

7.6 cations of Nuclear Energy was orga- tre at Trichy. isotopes in Industry (NAARRI). Over nized at Madurai, Tamil Nadu in De- DAE participated in a District Sci- 2500 people visited this exhibition. cember 1999 by the Tamil Nadu Sci- ence Exhibition organized by the NPCIL's journal Nu-Power, contin- ence and Technology Centers Tenkasi Arivial Mandram (TEAM) ued to disseminate authentic infor- (TNSTC) Chennai. affiliated to the Federation of Science mation on various facets of generation As a part of its continuing efforts Clubs of Tamil Nadu (FSCT) at of electricity through the atom. to enrich awareness of the student Tenkasi, Tirunelveli Dt. in November In pursuance with its Public Aware- community, DAE conducted the 11th 1999. The visitors to the exhibition ness Programmes, it continued to take All India Essay Contest in Nuclear totaled over 7000. the help of universities/institutes as Science and Technology in about 12 The Rotary Clubs of Madurai in a media of communication with the languages. The winners were taken concerted effort, held the Rotary teachers and students in particular, and around various facilities/units of the Science Talent Exhibition with the public in general. Department. (ROTASTEX) in Madurai in January Lecture-series were conducted on With Unit-2 of the Kaiga Atomic 2000. DAE participated in this exhi- various aspects of nuclear energy and Power Station going critical in Septem- bition which was visited by over 5000 displayed exhibits and models at nine ber 1999 and the Kudankulam project people. locations spread around the country. in the pipeline, a series of exhibitions, For the first time DAE took part in NPCIL also participated in various quiz contests and essay competitions the Delhi Book Fair at New Delhi or- commercial exhibitions for public were held in the South so as to improve ganized by the India Trade Promotion awareness. These exhibitions were public awareness and to give general Organization (ITPO) in August 1999. "Power Tech India '99." at Mumbai, public acceptance the necessary fillip. At the instance of the Ministry of Sci- "Energy and Environment Expo '99" An exhibition and quiz contest on ence, the scientific departments of the at Bangalore and "Thermal Centenary Nuclear Science and Technology was Government of India had a concerted Celebrations '99" at New Delhi. "Meet organized by Bangalore University in participation in the fair, which is an the Press " occasions were organised October 1999. The focus was on op- annual event. DAE exhibited over 250 from time to time. eration and safety of PHWRs. About publications from various units. More A CD-ROM consisting of multi- 6000 people visited the exhibition. than 10,000 people visited the exhibi- media programmes for education on An essay competition on "Impact tion. nuclear energy remained in good of Power and Non-Power uses of DAE participated in an exhibition demand from educational institutes. Atomic Energy "and a quiz contest for at the North Eastern Hill University Similarly, a CD-ROM containing undergraduate students was conducted (NEHU) Shillong, Meghalaya in No- technical and safety aspects of the in August 1999 and October 1999 vember 1999. The exhibition was a VVER-1000 was developed respectively at Tiruchchirapalli in part of a seminar organized by National English, Hindi and Tamil for putting coordination with TNSTC's new cen- Association for Applications of Radio- on the Internet for wider dissemination DAEpavilion at the exhibition " Heralding the New Millennium" organised at Pune of information on the Kudankulam in January, 2000 Project. Yet another CD-ROM for delivering lectures with dynamic environment on special projection on NPCIL for senior engineers, was developed and screened to VIPs and MPs in particular and the public in general. NPCIL also inserted articles and advertisements highlighting its activities and performance statistics in various newspapers and magazines. As a part of the corporate image building process, help of publishers of international repute, widely read magazines on power sector and published various issues on "Nuclear Power Corpo-

7.7 ration - creating enviable parameters". Server, a full text journals in elec- number of IAEA Fellows - coordinated Rejoinders with authentic information tronic format is also being made avail- by the Training Division. 24 IAEA were sent to the press and magazines able in the LAN. Towards the imple- Fellows availed this opportunity this as and when required. mentation of the state-of-the- art digi- year. A new scheme in collaboration Social welfare programmes such as tal library, efforts are on hand to with IIT Kanpur commenced in 1999 eye camps, school activities, distribu- evolve a suitable design for the sys- under which candidates selected pur- tion of high yield seeds, street tem for IGCAR, in collaboration with sue MTech in Nuclear Engineering & lighting, providing drinking water, II Sc, Bangalore. Technology at IIT Kanpur. These stu- education and plant-visits by teachers, To disseminate information on dents, on completion of the course will students, VIPs and public were programmes, activities and events, be offered regular appointment in continued in and around the nuclear reports, house journals and other infor- DAE. The Division is also engaged in power plants. mation material in English and Hindi, assisting Vietnam AEC in setting up have been regularly brought. of a training centre on lines of BARC Conferences/Seminar/Symposia/Work- DAE publications brought out dur- Training School. shop/Training ing the year, included documents such Keeping in view of the requirement Nine numbers of Conferences / as Annual Report, Performance Bud- for developing managerial skill among Seminars / Symposia / Workshop , get and Official Reports for Parlia- senior officers sharing substantial ad- were conducted by IGCAR during the ment; journals and information mate- ministrative responsibility, Training year. rial for media and public, and manu- Division is coordinating and Forty scientific officers were de- als, compilations and booklets for cap- organising Management Development puted abroad for training/ international tive use. Various databases were also Courses. conferences/symposium/seminars dur- managed. ing the year and 9 officers were sent The Library of DAE provided in- 7.11 INDUSTRIAL for research work. formation support to senior manage- RELATIONS AND ment of DAE. EMPLOYEES' WELFARE 7.9 LIBRARY & Industrial Relations INFORMATION 7.10 HUMAN RESOURCE The Industrial Relations in the The DAE and its organisations such DEVELOPMENT Department continued to be smooth as NPCIL, BARC, IGCAR, CAT and Training Division, BARC has the in-as-much-as JCM meetings were others, have modern library and infor- mandate of implementing two main regularly held with the recognized mation structure. Their salient activi- stream training courses, namely, one Service Associations. ties were as under: year Orientation Course for Engineer- To meet the information require- ing Graduates and Science Post-Gradu- Health Care ments the Central Library at Trombay ates (OCES) and five months Orienta- The Central Health Service Scheme has the necessary infrastructure and tion Course for Engineering Post- (CHSS) covers over 72,300 beneficia- facilities including electronic informa- Graduates (OCEP). 138 trainee scien- ries. Due to the increased load in tion resources of BARC and other tific officers of 42nd OCES and 18 Anushaktinagar East and West Dispen- institutions of DAE. The library has trainee scientific officers of 8th OCEP saries, a new dispensary (Mandala Dis- a total collection of more than 10 lakh graduated this year and were absorbed pensary) and two new wards (having documents including more than one in different units of DAE. BARC fa- 20 beds each) were commissioned at lakh books. It subscribes to more than cilities have been utilised by educa- BARC Hospital. The peripheral dis- 1,100 j ournals mainly in the advanced tional institutions around the country pensaries continued to extend thera- areas of science and technology. for research & training. To extend this peutic and diagnostic facilities to the At IGCAR, CD-NET server was further, the Division coordinates the beneficiaries and 4.8 lakh patients were installed to access various databases. practical training/ project work in treated in these dispensaries during the A 480 CDs Juke Box facility will also BARC for BTech/ MSc/ MTech stu- period of report. The social service be made available to LAN shortly. dents of Indian Universities. About section rendered assistance to over The IGC Newsletter, a quarterly pub- 1400 students have done their training/ 12,000 patients. In the Audio logy and lication of the Centre and also IGC project work in the various divisions Speech Therapy Unit 3800 patients Highlights-1997 were made available of BARC this year. Similarly, BARC were treated. on the Internet. Elsevier's Science also provides training facilities to a The morbidity pattern of the prime

7.8 population were compiled under WHO onship held in Suncity, South Africa around 225 persons from various units codes and the prevalence rates of vari- and the other in the Asian Veterans took part in the same. ous ailments arrived at. These values Tennis Championship held in Under its Health & Fitness were compared with the national Bangkok, Thailand. Programmes 10 persons attended the values after standardizing the age Under Fine Arts activities, a paint- International Yoga Conference at Ban- structure. ing competition was organised at All galore. Many programmes on 'Healthy The Contributory Health Services India level at Kota for all the DAE Living' awareness including Stress Scheme is presently in operation at as school children, in association with the Management for senior officers were many as 11 places. Atomic Energy Education Society. In organised. Under such programmes, order to identity the sports talent a very informative booklet on 'preven- Sports & Culture among the children of DAE family - tion of Kidney disorders' was also The Sports & Cultural Council of Annual Summer Camps in various brought out. Two more Fitness Cen- DAE organises sports and cultural sports were also held at most of the tres - one at Narora and the other at activities of the employees of DAE Centres. More than 1400 children took Kakrapar are being set up. organisations. part in these camps and about 150 chil- The XV All India DAE Sports & dren selected out of these camps were 7.12 AWARDS Cultural Meet was conducted in imparted advanced coaching. Many of A team of two AMD scientists 11 events by 9 different units at vari- our children have excelled at various has been conferred prestigious ous locations. About 950 employees State and National level champion- National Mineral Award-1998 by the took part in these, after preliminary ships. Ministry of Mines and Minerals, selections at their respective units. Two As in the past, this year also our Government of India, in recognition of the DAE employees got selected for annual trek - "GIRISANCHAR-11" of their significant contribution in the International events - one participated was organised with the approval of the field of Geophysics for Airborne geo- in the World Power Lifting Champi- Indian Mountaineering Federation and physical survey and instrumentation.

The XV DAE Sports & Cultural Meet-1999, being inaugurated by Shri R. M. Premkumar, Additional Secretary, DAE.

XV DAE SPORTS 8, CULTURAL MECT-rass TENNIS

BH&BHA ATOMIC RESEARCH CENTRE VENWE; NtLGIW:& SABBIeiBI TENNIS COUB

7.9 THE ORGANISATION

ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION

ATOMIC ENERGY REGULATORY BOARD

DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

INDUSTRIAL R&D ORGANISATIONS PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICE UNDERTAKINGS FACILITIES ORGANISATIONS Bhabha Atomic Research Nuclear Power Corp. of Heavy Water Board, Directorate of Purchase Centre, Mumbai India Ltd., Mumbai Mumbai & Stores, Mumbai Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam Indian Rare Earths Ltd., Directorate of Mumbai Nuclear Fuel Complex, Construction, Services & Centre for Advanced Hyderabad Estate Management, Technology, Indore Mumbai Uranium Corp. of India Variable Energy Cyclotron Ltd., Jaduguda Centre, Calcutta Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology, General Services Atomic Minerals Directorate Electronics Corp. of India Mumbai Organisation, Kalpakkam for Exploration & Research, Ltd., Hyderabad Hyderabad

Board of Research in I Nuclear Sciences, I I National Board of Higher I AIDED INSTITUTIONS Mathematics

Tata Institute of Institute of Mathematical Fundamental Research, Institute of Physics, Sciences, Chennai Mumbai Bhubaneshwar Institute for Plasma Tata Memorial Centre, Research, Ahmedabad Mumbai Mehta Research Institute of Maths.&Mathematical Atomic Energy Education Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Allahabad Society, Mumbai Physics, Calcutta Annex-1 ORGANISyvriONAL FONCiTlGNS

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) aims at har- (Rajasthan). These two reactors will soon attain commercial nessing atomic energy for peaceful applications with empha- status. sis on self-reliance. Two PHWRs each of 220 MWe, are at advanced stages DAE's main mandate is the production of safe and eco- of construction at Kaiga and Rawatbhatta. Construction work nomical nuclear power, using indigenous uranium and tho- on Tarapur Atomic Power Project-3&4, which will have rium resources. Towards this end, it is involved in develop- two reactors of 500 megawatt capacity each, is progressing. ing, in stages, pressurized heavy water reactors, fast breeder 'Supplement' to the Inter-Government Agreement (IGA) for reactors, advanced thorium reactors with associated fuel cycle setting up of two WER type reactors of 1000 megawatt each systems. at Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu), has already been signed be- It builds research reactors for production of radioisotopes tween the Russian Federation and India. and carries out programmes on isotope and radiation technology applications in medicine, agriculture and industry. It B) INDUSTRY & MINERALS SECTOR develops high technologies such as accelerators, lasers, con- Industry & Minerals Sector comprises the industrial trol and instrumentation, information technology, biotech- programmes of Nuclear Fuel Cycle supporting the nuclear nology and materials technology and also encourages tech- power generation, and those relating to radiation & isotope nology transfers to other users and industry. technologies. The programmes under Nuclear Fuel Cycle It supports basic research in nuclear energy and related cover Heavy Water Production, Nuclear Fuel Fabrication, frontier areas of science. It interacts with universities and aca- Mining & Processing, Fuel Reprocessing, and Waste man- demic institutions, and supports research and development agement. Contributing to the programmes are — projects having a bearing on DAE's programmes for mutual - Industrial Organisations: Heavy Water Board (HWB) benefit. for production of heavy water, Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) It encourages international cooperation in related advanced for nuclear fuel fabrication and zircaloy products, and Board areas of research and in mega science projects to enable In- of Radiation & Isotope Technology (BRIT) for promotion dian presence in the cutting edge of scientific developments, of Radiation and Isotope Technologies. and - Public Sector Undertakings : Uranium Corporation of It contribute to national security. India Ltd (UCIL) for mining and processing of uranium, Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IRE) for mining and processing of A) POWER SECTOR mineral sand, and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. The Power Sector comprises mainly the activities relat- (ECIL) for control & instrumentation equipment, and ing to power reactors, and allied R&D such as reactor engi- - Research Organisations : BARC and IGCAR for Fuel neering. Reprocessing and Waste Management, and R&D support. Contributing to this Sector are the Nuclear Power Corpo- The Heavy Water Board at Mumbai is responsible for ration of India Ltd (NPCIL), a public sector undertaking of production of heavy water for meeting the requirements of DAE, which is responsible for design, construction and nuclear power as well as research reactors. Eight Heavy Water operation of nuclear power reactors, and the Indira Gandhi Plants have been installed at Nangal (Punjab) Tuticorin Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) which is engaged in (Tamilnadu) Kota (Rajasthan), Baroda (Gujarat), Thai the development of fast reactors. (Maharashtra) Talcher (Orissa), Manuguru (Andhra Pradesh) The R&D support to the Power Sector comes from and Hazira (Gujarat). The plants at Kota and Manuguru use Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), IGCAR and the hydrogen sulphide and water exchange process developed at Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research Trombay, the Nangal plant uses low temperature hydrogen (AMD). distillation process and the other plants are based on ammo- NPCIL has 10 operating nuclear power reactors - two nia-hydrogen process for heavy water production. each at Tarapur (Maharashtra), Rawatbhatta (Rajasthan), The Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) at Hyderabad fabri- Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu), Narora (Uttar Pradesh), and cates and supplies fuel for the power reactors and zircaloy Kakrapar (Gujarat) with a total installed capacity of 1840 components for the PHWR reactors. It also fabricates en- M We. The Tarapur reactors are boiling water reactors (B WRs) riched uranium fuel for the Tarapur BWRs and the thorium and the rest are pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs). oxide blankets for the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at One pressurised heavy water reactor of 220 MWe at Kalpakkam. NFC operates plants for production of ceramic Kaiga (Karnataka) has synchronised with the grid and one grade uranium oxide, zircaloy components, sintered pellets similar reactor has attained criticality at Rawatbhatta and fuel assemblies. Other facilities at the Complex are the Stainless Steel Tubes and Ball Bearing Tubes Plants which tron Centre (VECC) and Atomic Minerals Directorate for cater to the needs of the Nuclear Energy Programme and the Exploration and Research (AMD) are engaged in Industry. multidisciplinary research in the application of nuclear en- The Board of Radiation & Isotope Technology (BRIT) ergy in power generation, production of radioisotopes and promotes Radiation and Isotope technologies relating to their applications in medicine, agriculture, industry, and hitech radiopharmaceuticals, radiochemicals, radiosterilisation ser- areas such as accelerators, computers, lasers, robotics, mate- vices for medical products, radiography equipment, rials and advanced reactors, research in frontier areas of radiosources and others. basic science, and others. As mentioned earlier, BARC and BRIT operates a radiation sterilization plant, Isomed at IGCAR also provide R&D support to the Nuclear Power Trombay, Radiopharmaceutical Laboratory at Navi Mumbai and Nuclear Fuel Cycle Programmes, and AMD contributes and Biomolecules Production Facility (Jonaki) and Centre to the development of mineral resources. for Compositional Characterisation of Materials (CCCM) at The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Hyderabad. In addition, the Board has regional centres for Mumbai, is a premier nuclear research and development centre radiopharmaceuticals at Bangalore, Dibrugarh and Delhi. The in the country. Its facilities include research reactors Demonstration Plant for Radiation Processing of Spices at DHRUVA (lOOMWt), CIRUS (40MWt) and APSARA Vashi, Navi Mumbai has become operational. (lMWt) at Trombay for research and radioisotope produc- The Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. (UCIL) at tion; Kamini (30 kWt) research reactor at Kalpakkam for Jaduguda carries out mining and processing of uranium in neutron radiography, and plants for manufacture of uranium the country. It has mines at Jaduguda, Bhatin and Narwapahar metal, nuclear fuels, fuel reprocessing and waste and operates a uranium ore processing mill at Jaduguda immobilisation, and seismic stations. (Bihar). The Corporation also runs three uranium recovery The Fuel Reprocessing Plants set up by BARC are oper- plants at Surda, Rakha and Mosaboni. ating at Tarapur, Trombay and Kalpakkam. BARC is also The Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IRE) mines and processes responsible for nuclear waste management and operates vari- mineral sands containing thorium and rare earth minerals. ous waste management facilities and waste immobilisation The Company has three mineral sands separation plants at plants at Tarapur and Kalpakkam. The Radiation Medicine Manavalakurichi, Chavara and OSCOM at Chhatrapur, which Centre - a unit of BARC at Mumbai, is the regional referral produce minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, monazite, zircon centre of the World Health Organisation. A 14 million volt and garnet. OSCOM also has a value addition plant which Pelletron Accelerator, set up at Mumbai by BARC in col- produces synthetic rutile. In addition to this, a Rare Earths laboration with TIFR, is a national research facility. Plant at Alwaye produces rare earth chlorides. The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research The Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL) (IGCAR) at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, is engaged in the de- manufactures a variety of sophisticated electronic systems, velopment of sodium cooled fast breeder reactor technol- instruments and equipment to meet the requirements of ogy, related fuel cycle and safety. The Fast Breeder Test Atomic Power Stations, Defence, Railways, Telecommuni- Reactor (FBTR) is its major research facility. IGCAR has cations and other sectors. The Company is also a leading also set up advanced laboratories for carrying out research producer of computers and consumer electronics. and development work in the fast breeder reactor technolo- BARC operates Fuel Reprocessing Plants at Tarapur, gies such as metallurgy, reactor engineering, sodium tech- Trombay and Kalpakkam and various waste management nology, radiochemistry, reprocessing and safety. The Centre facilities and waste immobilisation plants (WIP) at Tarapur is developing a 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor and Kalpakkam. IGCAR is also engaged in developing re- (PFBR). processing technology in the field of fast reactors. The Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT), Indore, Madhya Pradesh spearheads the national efforts in research C) RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT and development of lasers, accelerators, high vacuum tech- Contributing to the R&D Programme of DAE are its five nology, cryogenics and technology for manufacture of large research organisations. Also the Department fully supports magnets. CAT is setting up a Synchrotron Radiation Sources seven national research institutes, provides financial assis- (SRS) Facility which will be an unique research setup in the tance to prominent cancer centres in the country, and pro- country. Indus-1 facility of SRS has successfully achieved motes research in nuclear and allied fields in universities and beam current much higher than the target. institutes of higher learning, and mathematics. The Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) at DAE Research Centres : The five research organisations Calcutta is a national research centre in nuclear field. The of the DAE viz., Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), variable energy cyclotron (VEC) delivers beams of nuclear Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Centre particles for research in nuclear physics and nuclear chemis- for Advanced Technology (CAT), Variable Energy Cyclo- try, and produces radioisotopes for various applications. The Centre is setting up a superconducting cyclotron. mental nuclear, high energy and solid state physics. The re- The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and search facilities at the Institute include a Pelletron Accelera- Research (AMD) at Hyderabad is entrusted with the research tor and a set up for Compton profile and positron annihila- and development relating to radiometric and geological sur- tion experiment. veys, exploration, prospecting and development of various The Mehta Research Institute of Mathematics and mineral resources needed for the nuclear power programme Mathematical Physics (MRI) at Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh), of the DAE. carries out research in operation theory, consumability theory, particle physics and field theory. Aided Research Institutes The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, (IMSc) at The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) at Chennai (Tamil Nadu), is engaged in research in physics, Mumbai is the national centre for research in nuclear sci- mathematics and computer sciences. ences and mathematics. It is engaged in frontline research The Institute for Plasma Research (IPR) at Gandhinagar in astrophysics, astronomy, computer science and molecular (Gujarat) promotes and conducts studies in plasma physics, biology. The Institute's research facilities include a 14 MV and aims at developing fusion as a source of energy. Having Pelletron Accelerator and an NMR Facility at Mumbai; Bal- built India's first indigenous "Tokamak" Aditya, the Institute loon Research Facility at Hyderabad; Radiotelescope Array has commenced work on the development of a steady state and National Image Processing Facility for Astronomy at superconducting Tokamak. Ooty, and National Centre for Biological Sciences at Banga- The Board of Research and Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) lore. In addition, it manages the Homi Bhabha Centre for and the National Board of Higher Mathematics (NBHM) Science Education (HBCSE) at Mumbai. TIFR has set up at both at Mumbai, under the aegis of DAE promote activities Narayangaon near Pune, a Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope including research in nuclear sciences and mathematics re- (GMRT) for frontline research in radioastronomy. spectively at universities and other academic institutions. The Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) at Calcutta NBHM also participates in the International Mathematical conducts research in nuclear physics, nuclear spectroscopy, Olympiad. nuclear and radiation chemistry, molecular physics, plasma physics, biophysics, molecular biology and instrumentation. D) SERVICE ORGANISATIONS The Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) at Mumbai, com- The Directorates of Purchase & Stores (DPS), and prises the Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) and the Cancer Constructions, Services & Estate Management Group Research Institute (CRJ). It is a major centre for cancer (CS&EMG) both at Mumbai, and the General Service therapy, research and education in the country. The Tata Me- Organisation at Kalpakkam manage support functions such morial Hospital is equipped with sophisticated facilities for as purchases, stores, construction and maintenance of build- diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The Cancer Research ings, estate matters and general services. Institute is engaged in cancer research and education. TMC The Atomic Energy Education Society (AEES) at is also setting up an Advanced Centre for Treatment, Re- Mumbai is an aided society of the DAE. It manages the search and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) in Navi Mumbai. atomic energy schools at various sites. The (TOP) at Bhubaneswar (Orissa) is engaged in advanced research in theoretical and experi-

m Annex-2

The DAE aims at harnessing nuclear energy for electric- Reactor (AHWR) which will make use of thorium as fuel. ity generation; use of radioisotopes in agriculture, medicine and industry; developing high technologies such as accel- Nuclear Fuel Cycle erators, lasers, information technology and others; promot- The nuclear fuel cycle comprises activities supporting the ing R&D in nuclear science and allied areas; developing nuclear power programme covering mineral exploration, min- human resource, and contributing to national security. ing, heavy water production and fuel fabrication to fuel reprocessing and waste management. The Department has at- Nuclear Power tained self-reliance over the entire cycle. DAE is pursuing a three-stage Nuclear Power Programme as follows, to maximise the use of uranium and thorium re- Minerals Exploration and Mining sources available in the country : The exploratory efforts of the Atomic Minerals Director- Use of natural uranium fuel in pressurised heavy water ate for Exploration and Research (AMD) have led to the open- reactors (PHWRs) for electricity generation and production ing of uranium mines at Jaduguda, Bhatin and Narwapahar of plutonium in Stage I; use of plutonium produced in in Bihar, which are now operated by the Uranium Corpora- PHWRs, in fast breeder reactors (FBRs) and production of tion of India Ltd. (UCIL). Discovery of Domiasiat reserves additional plutonium/uranium-233 fuel for electricity gen- in Meghalaya is an important success of AMD. The Direc- eration in Stage II, and use of thorium-uranium-233 in ad- torate has located sizable uranium deposits at Lambapur- vanced reactor system in Stage III. Yellapur and Tummalapalle in Andhra Pradesh. DAE has achieved comprehensive capability in the de- Large reserves of thorium and zirconium have been sign, construction and operation of PHWRs. There are 2 boil- identified by AMD in beach placers along the coastal tracts ing water reactors and 8 PHWRs operating nuclear power and other parts of the country. reactors in the country with a total installed capacity of 1840 Jaduguda, Bhatin and Narwapahar mines are meeting MWe. the uranium needs of the Nuclear Power Programme. The Two reactors each of 220 MWe capacity have attain natural uranium from these mines is processed as yellow cricality at Kaiga and Rawabhatta. Two more similar reac- cake and sent to the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) at tors at this locations are expected to become operational Hyderabad for PHWR fuel fabrication. later this year. The design of 220 MWe PHWR has been Some of the placer deposits are being commercially ex- standardised, and a high level of indigenisation in the nuclear ploited by the Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IRE) which supplies fuel cycle has been achieved. thorium containing ores to the Thorium Plant at Trombay, The design of the 500 MWe PHWR has been completed. and zircon to NFC for production of zircaloy components. NPCIL has started construction work on two such reactors at Tarapur. Heavy Water Production The 'Supplement' to the Inter-Governmental Agreement Heavy water is used in the PHWRs as moderator and cool- (IGA) for setting up of two pressurised water reactors of 1000 ant. The indigenous heavy water production capability is fully MWe capacity each, has been signed between the Russian proven. Eight Heavy Water Plants have been installed in the Federation and India. country. All the plants have shown good performance and With the successful commissioning and operation of the safety record. While meeting domestic demand DAE is also Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at Kalpakkam, India is in in a position to export heavy water. the second stage of its Nuclear Power Programme. The Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) was operated at power levels Nuclear Fuel Fabrication upto 11.5 MWtand electricity was generated. Also, maxi- Nuclear fuel assemblies for PHWRs and BWRs, along mum burnup of 50,000 MWd/t for indigenously developed with zirconium components are manufactured indigenously fuel has been achieved. Technology development of 500 at NFC. The Complex is also geared towards the develop- MWe prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) is progressing ment of components needed for advanced reactors such as at Kalpakkam. PFBR. Fuel for research reactors is fabricated at BARC. Under the thorium utilisation programme, uranium-233, Development of new fuels is a thrust area of R&D at separated from irradiated thorium and fabricated into fuel BARC. The Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel bundles for Tarapur elements, has been successfully used in a research reactor reactors have been fabricated successfully at the Advanced KAMINI at Kalpakkam. Thorium has also been used for flux Fuel Fabrication Facility, Tarapur. MOX fuel has given good flattening in the initial cores of the Kakrapar reactors. Work performance when loaded in Tarapur reactors. For PFBR is progressing on the design of an Advanced Heavy Water annular uranium oxide fuel pellets were fabricated.

IV The fuel made of mixed uranium-plutonium carbide for four more research reactors. The latest, the 100 MWt high fast breeder test reactor (FBTR) developed successfully at flux reactor Dhruva, is a fully indigenous effort. Dhruva and Trombay, has performed well. Carbide fuel core has been Cirus are the main reactors which produce radioisotopes and used in a fast reactor for the first time in the world. are used in research. The 30 MWt neutron source reactor Kamini built by BARC at Kalpakkam is used for neutron Fuel Reprocessing and Waste Management radiography. Towards thorium utilisation, work is progress- Fuel reprocessing and nuclear waste management consti- ing on the design & development of AHWR. tute the back-end of the nuclear power programme. These Radioisotope Applications technologies are now fully established in the country and The radiation technology and radioisotope applications industrial plants are in operation. Fuel reprocessing plants constitute an important technology mission of DAE. BARC are operating at Tarapur, Trombay and Kalpakkam. A Lead is a major producer of radioisotopes for use in industry, Mini Plant for reprocessing of FBTR fuel will shortly go for medicine, agriculture and research and the Board of Radia- cold commissioning. A plant for reprocessing of fast reactor tion and Isotope Technology (BRIT) offers various products fuel (FRFRP) is also under construction at Kalpakkam. and services in the field of radiation and isotopes. The waste treatment, conditioning and disposal systems have been operating at various nuclear installations. Vitrifi- Radioisotopes in Industry : The radioisotopes produced cation of radioactive waste in a glass matrix, a complex at Trombay are widely used by industry for nondestructive technology, has been successfully developed by BARC. A testing, measurements, radiography and tracer applications. Waste Immobilisation Plant (WIP) is operational at Tarapur Medical industry is a major beneficiary of BRIT's radiation and two such plants are coming up at Trombay and sterilization facilities. Isomed Plant at Trombay for steriliza- Kalpakkam. For final disposal of immobilised high level ration of medical products, has serviced the industry for over dioactive wastes, a programme of siting a repository in suit- two decades. Similar plants have been working at Banga- able deep geological formations is going on. lore, New Delhi and Jodhpur. Radioisotopes in Medicine : In the field of medicine, the Research and Development radioisotopes are used for diagnostic and therapeutic pur- The Research and Development Programme of DAE is poses. Radioisotopes from BARC are processed by BRIT multidisciplinary and forms infrastructure for the power for production of radiopharmaceuticals, radioisotope based programme and nuclear fuel cycle and associated technolo- products and equipment. The radiopharmaceuticals supplied gies. The programme also covers areas relating to medicine, by BRIT are used in about 7 lakh patient investigations per agriculture and industry. The R&D programme is also geared year. BRIT is also a major supplier of radioactive sources towards the development of high-technologies in the areas which are used in radiodiagnosis and radiotherapy in hospi- of accelerators, computers, lasers, robotics, superconductiv- tals throughout the country. ity and others. Radioisotopes in Agriculture : Radioisotopes produced in BARC have been used in crop improvement, food preser- R&D Support to Nuclear Power Programme vation and other agricultural applications. BARC's mutation The R&D support to the Nuclear Power Programme comes breeding programme has resulted in evolution of high yield- from BARC and IGCAR. ing varieties of pulses, oilseeds, rice and jute. Many of these BARC, in close coordination with NPCIL carries out re- have reached the farmers and are cultivated in different parts search in areas of reactor engineering, reactor physics, nuclear of the country. BARC has also established irradiation tech- chemistry, materials, advanced instrumentation, computer nology for preservation of food. Irradiation of sea food, technology, electronics, safety and related basic sciences. The spices, potatoes and onions has been approved by the Gov- R&D programmes of BARC in reactor engineering have led ernment of India for export purposes. In April 1998, some to the development of number of technologies for power more food items have been cleared for irradiation. In agri- reactors. culture, radioisotopes have helped in monitoring the persis- The R&D at IGCAR relates to fast breeder reactor (FBR) tence of pesticides in soil and ground water. BRIT has re- programme in the areas of materials development, fuel recently made operational its Demonstration Plant for Radia- processing, safety of FBRs, fuel chemistry, sodium technol- tion Processing of Spices at Vashi, Navi Mumbai. ogy and others. Safety and Environment Protection Research Reactors Safety has been an integral part of DAE activities. NPCIL The Department has acquired rich experience of over four has completed over 160 reactor years of operation with decades in design, construction and operation of research good record of safety which encompasses facets such as reactors, and radioisotope production. Beginning with the radiological safety, industrial safety, fire safety and envi- commissioning of Apsara reactor in 1956, BARC set up ronment protection. In all the nuclear installations, care is taken to protect operating personnel, public and the environ- Technology Transfer ment, Safety is monitored by an independent body, the The multidisciplinary research carried out in frontier and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). hitech areas in its different research centres, has helped DAE Setup at different sites, the Environment Survey Labs in achieving self-reliance in Nuclear Fuel Cycle. Success has (ESLs) equipped with sophisticated equipment, constantly been achieved in transferring technology based on in-house monitor environment, and advanced systems collect site re- R&D to the organisations within DAE engaged in mineral lated meteorological data. processing, heavy water production, fuel fabrication and A national network of environmental radiation monitor- reprocessing plants, and public sector undertakings. ing stations is being established for detection of radiation Also, the spin-offs of the research and development work releases as a part of a global environmental radiation moni- carried out under the aegis of DAE, has generated several toring (GERMON) network. technologies that have benefited a number of industries. BARC's personnel radiation monitoring services benefit These technologies include material and alloys, radioisotope about 32,000 radiation workers every year. based tools and techniques, agro-technology, lasers for surgery and industrial applications, electronic instruments and Basic Research devices, and others. Besides developing technologies for the nuclear power and associated programmes, including non-electricity ar- DAE-Industry Interaction eas, the DAE's research centres have been engaged in basic A number of Indian industries have been the partners of and applied research in frontier domains of sciences cover- DAE in its progress. This interaction has resulted in ing physical, chemical and materials sciences, molecular bi- indigenisation of the Indian Nuclear Power Programme, and ology and astrophysics. developing capabilities of the Indian industry in meeting the Basic research is also carried out in nuclear energy and stringent demands of the present hitech-age. frontline areas of science and technology at seven national With the creation of the Indian Atomic Industrial Forum, institutes under the aegis of DAE, covering areas such as the Department has strengthened its industrial interface. mathematics, physics, biosciences and astronomy at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai; physics of con- Promotion of Research & Mathematics densed matter and plasmas at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Besides fully funding the seven national institutes, fi- Physics, Calcutta; cancer research at the Tata Memorial Cen- nancial support is also extended by DAE to cancer research tre, Mumbai; condensed matter physics, high energy particle centres/hospitals for improving cancer control measures in physics and nuclear physics at the Institute of Physics, the country. The Department, through its Board of Research Bhubaneshwar; frontier disciplines of mathematical sciences in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) — a major research funding at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai; opera- agency in the country — promotes research and develop- tions theory, consumability theory and other advanced areas ment in nuclear fields in universities and institutions by way of mathematics and mathematical physics at the Mehta Re- of funding of research projects, offering fellowships, and search Institute of Mathematics and Mathematical Physics, supporting activities such as seminar and symposia. Also, Allahabad and plasma physics at the Institute for Plasma through the National Board of Higher Mathematics (NBHM) Research, Ahmedabad. financial assistance is provided to activities relating to mathematics. High Technology Development The research organisations of DAE have generated a num- International Research Collaboration ber of high technologies. These include supercomputer The R&D Centres of DAE have been participating in a system using parallel processing techniques; advanced number of International research collaborations. BARC fab- remote handling and robotic devices and servo-manipulators ricated and supplied shutter guide to the Rutherford Appleton for applications in industry; scintigraphic techniques used in Lab., UK; designed and developed Compact Muon Solenoid- organ imaging in medical diagnosis; surgical and industrial Detector for CERN and a prototype detector frame for muon applications of lasers; accelerators for nuclear research and tracking for Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA. BARC isotope production; Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope also carried out collaborative experiments with Legnaro, Italy (GMRT) set up at Pune for research in astronomy; radiation and collaborated with Berlin Neutron Scattering Centre. and isotope technologies; and the specialised services for VECC's simulation and design studies on ALICE-PMD analysis and characterisation of ultra-pure materials at the (Photon Multiplicity Detector) reached completion. National Centre for Compositional Characterisation of Materials, Hyderabad. Human Resource Development The Training School at Trombay and National Training Centre at Rawatbhata are the premier training centres of the

VI Department. These provide specialised training to under- Research projects in universities and institutes, in the fields take multidisciplinary activities of DAE. A number of of nuclear sciences and allied areas, are funded by the DAE's specialised courses in the fields of radiation and isotope tech- Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS) and the Na- nology, radiation medicine, health & safety and others are tional Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM). run by various DAE organisations. DAE has also extended its training facilities to International Relations organisations at national and international levels in various India has been a member of the Board of Governors of areas which cover nuclear agriculture, nuclear medicine, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since its in- radioisotope technology and many specialised services. DAE ception. In September, 1994 the country was elected as the also offers training facilities, fellowships, visits and services Chairman of the Board of Governors of IAEA for one year. of experts through the International Atomic Energy Agency Training facilities, fellowships, scientific visits and ser- (IAEA) or bilateral agreements for cooperation in peaceful vices of scientists for expert assignments are offered, by uses of atomic energy. DAE both through the IAEA and to the countries with which India has entered into bilateral agreements for cooperation DAE-University Interaction in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy. Through the Inter-University Consortium for DAE Fa- As an active member of WANO, Indian experts partici- cilities (IUC-DAEF), research facilities at various centres of pated in Peer Reviews in many countries including the USA, the Department are used by researchers of universities and Japan and South Korea. A Peer Review of the Kakrapar academic institutions. Dhruva reactor at BARC has been Atomic Power Station was conducted by the World Asso- in regular use by university scientists. Research projects ciation of Nuclear Operators (WANO) in 1998. Similar re- are regularly pursued by the university scientists at Trombay. view of Narora Atomic Power Station by WANO is expected BARC has also entered into MoU with Mangalore Univer- shortly. sity for training and technical guidance. At IGCAR, low Concerted efforts are continued to publicise Indian ex-, energy accelerator facilities have been in use under this pertise for the purpose of export of technology and equip- programme. ment for peaceful applications of nuclear energy.

vn ABBREVIATIONS

ORGANISATIONS/FACILITIES GERMON Global Environment Monitoring GIS Geographic Information System AFFF Advanced Fuel Fabrication Facility HVE Hot Vacuum Extraction Facility APSEB Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board AES Atomic Emission Spectrometer CWMF Central Waste Management Facility ICP-MS Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer DOE Department of Electronics IFG Inert Gas Fusion Technique DRDO Defence Research & Development Organisation ISROS Internal Safety Review of Operating Stations ESL Environmental Survey Labs KDP Potassium Di-hydrogen Phospate FBTR Fast Breeder Test Reactor KGF Kolar Gold Field GOALS Gurushikhar Observatory for Astrophysical Science KV Kilo Volt GSFC Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation LCTR Large Component Test Rig HMT Hindustan Machine Tools LINAC Linear Accelerator HOC Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd. LTVE Low Temperature Vacuum Evaporation HPU Health Physics Unit MBN Magnetic Barkhausen Noise IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency MGD Million Gallons per Day ICRP International Commission on Radiological Protection M1BG Meta lodo-Benzyl Guanidine USc Indian Institute of Science MOU Memorandum of Understanding IIT Indian Institute of Technology MOX Mixed Oxide Fuel IMSc Institute of Mathematical Sciences MSF-RO Multi-Stage Flash Reverse Osmosis KAPS Kakrapar Atomic Power Station MWe Mega Watt (electrical) KARP Katpakkam Fuel Reprocessing Project MWt Mega Watt (thermal) MAPS Madras Atomic Power Station NDT Non-Destructive Technique NAPS Narora Atomic Power Station PCS Process Control System NCCCM National Centre for Compositional Characterisation of PERTS Programming Environment for Real Time System Materials PFBR Pototype Fast Breeder Reactor PREFRE Power Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant PHWR Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor RAPS(P) Rajashtan Atomic Power Station (Project) PIG Pipe-line Inspection Gauge REDL Rare Earths Development Laboratory PRL Physical Research Laboratory RMC Radiation Medicine Centre QC/QA Quality Control / Quality Assurance RRMC Regional Radiation Medicine Centre QGP Quark Gluon Plasma TAPS(P) Tarapur Atomic Power Station (Project) QMS Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer REE Rare Earth Elements MISCELLANEOUS RFQ Radio Frequency Quadrupole RIA Radioimmuno-assay AFR Away From Reactor RIMS Resonance lonisation Mass Spectroscopy AGRS Air-borne Gamma-Ray Spectrometry RIP Repository for Immobilised Waste Product AGSS Aerial Gamma Spectrometric System ROLI Radiography Camera AHWR Advanced Heavy Water Reactor RRS Reactor Regulating System ALARA As Low As Reasonably Achievable SCADA Supervision Control & Data Acquisition System BGL Blackgram lectins SECC Site Emergency Control Centre BWRs Boiling Water Reactors SODAR Sound Detection and Ranging Bq Bequerel SQUID Super-conduction Quantum Interference Device CCRM Coolant Channel Replacement Machine SSMS Spark Source Mass Spectrometry DNA De-oxy Ribonucleic Acid SWRO Sea Water Reverse Osmosis DPHS Dual Processor Hot Standby TLD Thermo Luminescence Detector DSC Differential Scanning Calorimetry Th,Pu Thorium, Plutonium EB Electron Beam U-Zr-O Uranium Zinconium Oxygen ECCS Emergency Core Cooling System umi-Mo-o Uranium/Thorium-Molybdenum-Oxygen ECR Electron Cyclotron Resonance UHF Ultra High Frequency EGA Evolved Gas Analyser VNTR Variable Number Tandem Repeats EMF Electro-motive force VSAT Very Small Aperature Terminal EMI/EMC Electro-magnetic Interference/Compability WDXRF Wave Dispersion X-Ray Fluorescence EP Embedded Part XRF X-ray Radio Frequency ERDS Emergency Response Data System tpd Tonnes Per Day FIV Flow Induced Vibration

Edited and published by R K Bhatnagar, Hd. Publication Dn, Dept. of Atomic Energy, Govt. of India, Mumbai-400 001, and printed by him at M/s Krishna Art Printery Pvt. Ltd., Byculla, Mumbai