Annual Report 1999-2000
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ANNUAL REPORT 1999-2000 PAKISTAN ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION PAEC Annual Report for the year 1999-2000 aims to compile salient features of its activities undertaken and accomplished during this period. The publication of this document is a statutory requirement under the provisions of section 15 (b) of PAEC Ordinance, 1965, the contents of which reflect the Commission's achievements and engagements in different segments of its working. While presenting this report, the Commission places on record its deep appreciation for the contributions rendered by all the scientists, engineers, tech• nicians, and administrative and financial personnel toward the pursuit of its Programme. CONTENTS Highlights 1 Nuclear Power 7 Physical Sciences & Engineering 15 Bio-Sciences 22 Nuclear Minerals 36 Human Resource Development 41 Projects 44 International Relations 46 Finance 49 Publications 51 HIGHLIGHTS NUCLEAR POWER Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) KANUPP established a new record of 130 days 16 hrs. & 38 minutes of continuous op• eration surpassing the previ• ous longest operation record of 113 days achieved in 1995. The Plant operated smoothly at 84 MWe from Feb 17-June 26, 2000 to achieve this mile• stone. During the period from July, 1999 to June, 2000 KANUPP generated a total of 399.21 GWh which raised the cumulative generation since Chashma Nuclear Power reactor on May 03. 2000. Net Power Date iNPD) to Plant (CHASNUPP) Startup physics tests at low 9,696.54 GWh. The total on• power were then successfully After having completed con• line time of turbo generator completed. struction of the 300 Mwe was 5.041.36 hours which The plant was connected to Chashma Nuclear Power raised the cumulative running the nation grid on June 13, Plant, step by step commis• time upto 30th June. 2000 to 2000 and started supplying sioning of the plant equipment 138,697.53 hours. electrical power to WAP DA. and systems remained in pro• The gross capacity and avail• The plant operated between gress during the reporting pe• ability factors during the period 15-30 percent full power during riod. were 33.2% & 57.4% respec• the month of June for trial op• The commissioning pro• tively. Life time average figures eration purposes. gramme was earlier approved for these are 28.7% and 55.9% The power of the plant was in• by CHASNUPP as well as by respectively. creased gradually after con• the Regulatory Authority duct of pre-determined power Mr. Milorad Dusic, IAEA Tech• (DNSRP) and was continu• tests.The plant was operated nical Officer for the project ously monitored and witnessed by a joint CHASNUPP and "Improve Safety Features Of at pre-determined control CZEC team in which CHASNUPP KANUPP (ISFK)" visited KAN• points. operators played the leading UPP from 19-23 March. 2000 Fuel loading at CHASNUPP role. to finalize the requirement of was started on Nov. 22. 1999 PAEC entered into an ad-hoc expert mission for 2000 to which after loading all the 121 2002. arrangement with WAPDA for fuel assemblies in the reactor the cost of supply of electrical During his visit the cases for core, was completed on Nov. power during the commission• requirement of expert missions 28, 1999. ing period. Negotiations are in were discussed and finalized. Stage commissioning as per progress with WAPDA for final• As per its recommendation, commissioning programme izing Power Purchase Agree• new safety cases were pre• continued after fuel loading ment pared and submitted to IAEA. achieving first criticality of the l Applied Systems cooperation and support was Computational Physics Analysis Group (ASAG) provided to other PAEC estab• lishments in the above fields. Pressurizer and shaker have A detailed economic and finan• been interfaced with the re• cial analysis of Chashma Nu• PHYSICAL SCIENCES cently installed mam test loop clear Power Project for deter• for the Pakistan Science Foun• mining suitable tariff for sale of AND ENGINEERING dation Project "Stress Analysis electricity from Chasnupp to of Piping System subjected to WAPDA was carried out. Reactor Operations Dynamic Loading". Study on 'Incorporation of en• Pakistan Research Reactor-1 vironmental regulation in me• (PARR-1} was operated for Fast Neutron Physics dium to long term planning for 837 hours including 642 hours electric system expansion in Neutron induced reaction operation at full power gener• cross-section measurements Pakistan", was also carried out ating 5796 MWh of energy. under the coordinated re• have been performed on reac• Pakistan Research Reactor-2 tor structural materials at 14.6 search programme of the (PARR-2) was operated for 87 IAEA. A study has also been MeV neutron energy. Most of hours during which 1096 sam• the results are in good agree• initiated, under an IAEA CRP, ples were irradiated. After to identify ::the role of nuclear ment with the literature. about 10 years operation, the Thermal neutron cross-section power in Pakistan in mitigating excess reactivity of the reactor greenhouse gases emissions and resonance integral of core was decreased and the 159 from the energy sector". Tb has been carried out af• continuous operation of reactor ter irradiation of samples at for 5 hours became impossi• PARR-I and PARR-II. Institute for Nuclear Power ble. Beryllium shim was added Positron lifetime measurement (INUP) in the Beryllium shim tray experiment is being setup us• which has increased the core INUP continued its efforts for ing the Fast-Slow coincidence reactivity to 4 mK. attaining the capability for indi- technique for crystalline defect genized nuclear power plant/ studies on Co-base super al• research rectors. This included Reactor Experiments loys. work concerning in-core fuel R&D activities regarding the management, accident analy• IAEA Project entitled "Loose Laser Studies sis, fuel design, development, Parts Monitoring for Safety of and safety analysis for PWR Multi-colour spectroscopy of Nuclear Power Plant" were type reactors. Technical neutral tin (Sn) was carried out continued. with an atomic beam source. Hyperfine structure of various elements like Lanthanum, Hol- mium and Vanadium in the wavelength range between 5600A and 62G0A have been investigated, using an Argon ion pumped narrow band width (500KHZ) ring dye laser and commercial hollow cathodes. Radiation & Isotope Application The emission regulator, a part of new control system of one of the GD-150 mass spec• Locally developed mass spectrometer for isotope analysis atPINSTECH trometers, was designed and 2 fabricated, it was successfully Synthesis of Mn02/SiO: com• plant and at other radioactive/ tested during independent op• posite materials and their up• radiochemical laboratories at eration. Analytical methodol• take properties for divalent the Institute. During the period ogy for Biological Oxygen De• metal ions are being studied. under report, 6178 radiation/ mand (BOD) & Chemical Oxy• contamination surveys were gen Demand (COD) determi• Radio-pharmaceutical Cold carried out and personnel con• nation of river and stream wa• Kits Production tamination monitoring of radia• tion workers/visitors was con• ter was developed. Production of radioisotopes I- ducted on 13837 occasions. 131 (87 Ci), P-32 (545 mCi), Chemical Material Studies Tc-99m: Lu-140, Au-190, Br- Computers R&D work on the characteri• 82, Cr-51, Rb-86 and Na-24 zation of mild steel specimens and radio-pharmaceutical cold dtp coated with yttna doped kits for medical and industrial A software package for the on• applications was continued zirconia through sol-gel tech• line registration of Summer through out the year and 4.5 nique has been carried out. R& College participants has been million rupees were generated. D work on the synthesis and char• developed. This package was Nine radio-pharmaceutical cold acterization of silicoalminophos- then embedded in the web site kits of Tc-99m (worth 6.02 mil• for Nathiagali Summer Col• phate microporous materials re• lion rupees) were produced lege, hosted at CERN. The two mained in progress. Physico- and supplied to Nuclear Medi• computer systems continued chemical properties of SAPO-5 cal Centres. to work satisfactorily. Com• and SAPO-11 microporous puter services worth Rs.7.014 materials were measured us• Ail the batches were subjected million against 7014.62 CPU ing the SEM, XRD and BET to various quality control tests. Tc-99m plant provided by hours of SUN Workstations techniques. IAEA has been installed and were provided some qualify control experi• Polymer Processing and Nine FUJITSU line printer's in• ments were performed. Radiation Studies terface modules for M.S. de• partment of POF Wah were Radiation resistant polypropyl• Applied Health Physics designed and fabricated. ene, heat press sneets, and syringe components were fab• Radiation protection services Scientific Information ricated using Gadoon Amazai were provided at PARR-1, Syringe Manufacturing Facility. PARR-II, 1-131 production Regu'.ar monthly services in• cluding SD! from the newly added information in the in- house databases of INIS, Ta• ble of Contents (TOCs) of journals and technical reports and retrospective searches were provided to managers, scientists and engineers of PINSTECH, all PAEC estab• lishments, R&D organizations and universities within the country against 420 profiles registered by them in SID. Retrospective searching facil• ity was provided from the INIS database on CD-ROM cover• ing period si nee 1970 onwards. 3 BIO-SCIENCES Mutation breeding The cultivation of wheat va• rieties Sarsabz Soghat 90 and Kiran 95, evolved by Nu• clear Institute of Agricuture (NIA), continued on the farm• ers fields covering more than 50% area under wheat in the Sindh Province. NIFA wneat varieties Bakhtawar-92 and Fakhr-e-Sarhad performed very well during the yearl 999-2000. Pre-basic seed of Shadab (1308 kg), Shua 92 (1219 kg) and Khushboo 95 (684 kg) devel• Effect of Azotobacter and sulphur fertilization on maize oped by NIA was supplied to of the provinceof Sindh.