Barc nukes fears about disposal centre

According to scientists at WIP, the Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) generate power and release spent fuel, comprising of Uranium (235), plutonium and radioactive fission product in liquid state. The uranium (235) and plutonium which comprise 97 of the spent fuel serve as reprocessing fuel and are fed into a different type of reactor, the nuclear waste produced that accounts for the remaining 3 per cent, need to be disposed of effectively.

“Nuclear waste from reactors are usually classified as high-level waste, intermediate level waste and low level waste depending on the concentration of radioactivity. The High and Intermediate level wastes are treated sufficiently and immobilized (transformed from liquid to solid state) and disposed of,” said a senior scientist at Barc.

The High Level Waste at the WIP here are vitrified using a Joule Heated Ceramic Melter with borosilicate glass to ensure absolutely minimal leaching of the radioactive materials and then stored in metal canisters that are sealed for later disposal at an identified geological location. These canisters would be buried deep under the surface of the earth after going through a cooling process.

The Intermediate Level Waste is first pretreated to recover traces of heavy metals and then subjected to ion exchange treatment for removal of Cesium and Strontium usiing indigenously developed selective ion exchange resins.

After the removal of Cesium and Strontium that are treated as High Level Waste, the remaining liquid waste is treated in the Central Wa­ste Management Facility.

Speaking to reporters, facility director Amitava Roy said that India is one of the few countries in the world to have indigenously developed Joule Melter technology and to have an operating experience. “State of the art systems are incorporated into the plant for remote Operation and Maintenace and also decommissioning of the facility,” he said.

The other two WIPs in the country, also commissioned by Barc, are located at Tarapore and Trombay in Maharashtra while the disposal mechanism of commercial nuclear reactors in the country remains un­clear.

Senior scientists at Barc pointed out that India’s nuclear programme was classified into three stages and having an effective waste disposal technology was of paramount importance. “In the first stage of our nuclear research, natural Uranium is used as fuel to generate power which has been proven as a success.

The second stage uses Plutonium recovered from the spent fuel of the first stage to generate more power through fast breeder reactors to exploit maximum potential of natural uranium. The significance of WIP is in fixing radioactive fission products in a safe and environmentally friendly mode,” said senior Barc scientist J. Daniel Chellappa.

However, the third and most crucial phase of the country’s nuclear power plan would be to process nuclear power from Thorium which is present in monazite, a mineral that is abundant in the coasts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Odisha.

“While we have very limited reserves of natural Uranium, India and Brazil have the largest deposits of monazite and the next level of nuclear reactors would be fast breeder reactors that would convert Thorium to Uranium and tap into these reserves to generate nuclear power,“ Chellappa said.

The third phase of the nuclear programme would take another 30 to 40 years by which time there would be sufficient fuel deposits to meet the country’s power needs.

Despite several attempts by nuclear experts and activists to highlight the illegal mining of monazite for export purposes by private firms, monazite has been mined on a large scale from coastal India for the past several years.

While the significance of commissioning the Waste Immobilization Plant (WIP) at Kalpakkam might seem as just one more milestone in the country’s nuclear power programme to the common man, scientists at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre claim that it takes the country one giant step forward in meeting India’s burgeoning power demand.

Senior scientists at BARC pointed out that India’s nuclear programme has classified into the three stages and having an effective waste disposal technology is of paramount importance.

“In the first stage of our nuclear research, natural Uranium is used as fuel to generate power which has been proven as a success. The second stage uses Plutonium recovered from the spent fuel of the first stage to generate more power through fast breeder reactors to exploit maximum potential of natural uranium. The significance of WIP is in fixing radioactive fission products in a safe and environmentally friendly mode,” said senior BARC scientist J. Daniel Chellappa.

However, the third and most crucial phase of the country’s nuclear power plan would be to process nuclear power from Thorium which is present in monazite, a mineral that is abundant in the coasts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Odissa. “While we have very limited reserves of natural Uranium, India and Brazil have the largest deposits of monazite and the next level of nuclear reactors would be fast breeder reactors that would convert Thorium to Uranium and tap into these reserves to generate nuclear power,“ Chellappa said.

The third phase of the nuclear programme as envsioned by the founding fathers of the country’s nuclear policy would take another 30 to 40 years by which time there would be sufficient fuel deposits to meet the country’s power needs.

Despite several attempts by nuclear experts and activists to highlight the illegal mining of monazite for export purposes by private firms, monazite has been mined in a large scale from coastal India for the past several years.