Lok Sabha Question No. 4052 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-17
Subject: Radioactive Waste
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: Vinod Kumar Sonkar, Sukanta Majumdar, Manickam Tagore B, Raja Amareshwara Naik, Khagen Murmu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

## LOK SABHA 4052

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.

TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.07.2019

## RADIOACTIVE WASTE

## 4052.   SHRI VINOD KUMAR SONKAR:

DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR:

SHRI MANICKAM TAGORE B.:

SHRI RAJA AMARESHWARA NAIK:

SHRI KHAGEN MURMU:

## Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  there  has  been  incidents  of  exposure  to  radioactive  waste  causing  public health hazard and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  guidelines  to  set  up  Chemical  Biological  Radiation  and  Nuclear  Cell  in hospitals has not been heeded to and if so, the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether Department of Atomic Energy(DAE) has developed a low-cost handheld 12channel Tele-ECG machine which records all 12 ECG channels simultaneously and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether International  Panel  on  Fissile  Materials  reported  that  liquid  sodium  cooled FBRs experienced sodium leaks resulting in fires and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether lack of container security poses threat of nuclear smuggling in the country and if so, the details thereof and the action taken in this regard;
- (f) whether  the  Government  has  upgraded  technicality  for  dumping  of  nuclear  waste within the country and undertaken any study on the possibility of radiation in case of dumping nuclear waste and if so, the details thereof; and
- (g) the steps taken by the Government for application of atomic energy in social welfare?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES & PENSIONS AND PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (Dr. JITENDRA SINGH):

- (a) No, Sir.
- (b) No,  Sir.  The  guidelines  issued  by  the  National  Disaster  Management  Authority (NDMA) are being followed. National Disaster Management Plan-2016(NDMP-2016) issued  by  NDMA  provides  guidelines  for  Capacity  Development  in  the  area  of Nuclear  and  Radiological  Emergencies.  NDMP-2016  stipulates  establishment  of tertiary care hospitals for treatment of radiation injuries and establishment of primary and secondary care hospitals of adequate capacity at selected cities.
- (c) Yes,  Sir.  Bhabha  Atomic  Research  Centre  (BARC)  has  developed  a  low-cost handheld  12-channel  Tele-ECG  machine.  The  machine  is  battery  operated,  small

size  (3.5'X2.5'X0.5')  weighing  100  gms  and  connectable  to mobile  phone  through Bluetooth and records all 12 channels of ECG simultaneously. It generates report in image / PDF format that can be transmitted to medical expert's mobile through any file sharing apps. The machine eliminates need of carrying patient to ECG room and it is most suitable for rural health care to save crucial time.

- (d) The  International  Panel  on  Fissile  Materials  in  their  research  report  titled  'Fast Breeder  Reactor  Programs:  History  and  Status'  released  in  Feb  2010  mentions various incidents of sodium leaks in international liquid sodium cooled fast breeder reactors (Russia, France, Japan, United Kingdom, India) based on data available in published literature.  In  all  the  cases,  the  resulting  sodium fire  was  extinguished  by plant  operators  using  the  sodium  fire-extinguishing  systems  provided  and  these incidents did not affect reactor safety. In fast breeder reactors, diverse leak detection systems are provided (two different methods) for all sodium pipelines and equipment. Emphasis  is  placed  on  early  detection  of  sodium  leaks  by  providing  sensitive instrumentation to detect  and  alert  the  operator  for  taking  necessary  safety  action. Dry-chemical powder / inerting with inert gas is used to extinguish sodium fire.
- (e)      Radiation  Portal   Monitors (RPMs)  are installed  at  various sea-ports around  the country  for  detecting  movement  of  radioactive  materials  through  in-bound  or  outbound cargo. These equipment are owned by respective ports (Ministry of Shipping) and operated by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).  Similar systems are also installed/being  installed  at  all  major  Airports.    Land  Ports  Authority  of  India  (LPAI), Ministry  of  Home Affairs  (MHA)  is  procuring  RPMs from Electronics  Corporation  of India Limited (ECIL) for installation in 5 land border points.
- (f) As  a  waste  management  philosophy,  no  waste  in  any  physical  form  is  released  / disposed to the environment unless the same is cleared, exempted or excluded from regulations. The radioactive solid wastes generated during operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants are segregated and volume reduced prior to its disposal. Disposal of these waste is carried out in specially constructed engineered modules  such  as  reinforced  concrete  trenches  and  tile  holes.  These  engineered structures are located both above and under-ground in access - controlled areas and are  designed  based  on  multi-barrier  principle  for  ensuring  effective  containment  of the radioactivity. The areas where the disposal structures are located are kept under constant  surveillance  with  the  help  of  bore-wells  laid  out  in  a  planned  manner  by routinely  monitoring  the  underground  soil  and  water  samples  to  confirm  effective confinement  of  radioactivity  present  in  the  disposed  waste.    The  practice  is  at  par with  international  practices  following  the  guidelines  of  International  Atomic  Energy Agency (IAEA).

- (g)       Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in particular  has  significantly  contributed  towards  application  of  atomic  energy  for several societal applications. Some of the areas in which DAE has contributed are mentioned below:-
1. Agriculture by developing high yielding varieties of rice, pulses and oilseeds using nuclear techniques.
2. Promoting food preservation through irradiation.
3. Municipal waste Sludge Hygienisation through radiation.
4. Health Care.

## 1. Agricultural research:

Mutation breeding using radiation and allied techniques has significantly contributed to release of high yielding varieties in pulses and oilseeds over last 6 decades. Using radiation induced mutagenesis along with cross breeding, BARC has developed 44 varieties in oilseeds (groundnut, mustard, soybean and sunflower), pulses (urdbean, mungbean,  pigeonpea,  cowpea),  rice  and  jute,  which  have  been  released  and notified  for  commercial  cultivation  across  the  country.  Many  State  agricultural Universities including Konkan Krishi Vishva Vidyalay, Dapoli, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Rajasthan  Agricultural  University,  Bikaner,  Indira  Gandhi  Krishi Vishva Vidyalay, Raipur, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar have been actively collaborating with BARC. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and  State  Agricultural  Krishi Vidnyan Kendras  have  interactions  with  BARC  for multiplication of breeder seeds and reaching to farmers.

## 2. Food preservation:

Preservation  of  food  forms  another  important  area  for  National  Food  Security. Feasibility  of  food  irradiation  for  preservation  has  been  studied  for  a  number  of agricultural and food commodities for several years. There are several commodities cleared under New Atomic Energy (Radiation Processing of Food & Allied Products) Rules  2012  in  Food  Safety  and  Standards  (Food  Products  Standards  and  Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.

## 3. Mun i cipal waste Sludge Hygienisation:

BARC  has  established  a  Sludge  Hygienisation  Research  Irradiator  (S.H.R.I)  at Vadodara, Gujarat, where  sewage  is irradiated  at  3  kGy  dose  of  gamma  radiation emitted  from  Cobalt-60  source.  The  sludge  is  hygienized  due  to  inactivation  of pathogens by radiation effects  and can be safely used for intended applications  in

agriculture.  Recently  a  Memorandum  of  Understanding  (MoU)  has  been  signed between BARC and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to set up a 110 ton/day dry sludge  hygienisation  facility.  This  would  enable  use  of  safe  sludge  for  agricultural applications.

## 4. Health Care:

## (i)      Radioisotopes

The Radiation Medicine Centre (RMC), Parel, Mumbai, started in 1963 is in the forefront of practicing Nuclear Medicine for health care.

Nuclear  Medicine  uses  radioactive  isotopes  (radio-isotopes)  for  the  noninvasive diagnosis  of  several  human  diseases, including cardiology, oncology (cancer), neurology, psychiatry and infectious diseases and for the treatment of thyrotoxicosis,  thyroid  cancer,  neuroendocrine tumours,  neural  crest  tumours, bone-pain palliation etc.  The benefit to the patient from an early and improved diagnosis and treatment far outweighs the risk from the radiation exposure due to the administered radiopharmaceutical.

## (ii)     Imaging:

PET-imaging  has  revolutionized  cancer  diagnosis  by  making  possible  early detection.  Several  thousand  patients  are  referred  to  RMC  each  year.  This includes  PET-imaging  for  cancer  diagnosis,  staging,  therapy  planning  and management.  The  cost  to  the  patient  is  the  lowest,  compared  to  any  other nuclear medicine centre in India. RMC has the largest registry in India for radioisotope therapy for thyroid cancer and neuroendocrine tumours.

## (iii)    Bhabhatron:

Bhabhatron  is  an  indigenous  tele-cobalt  machine  developed  by  BARC  for cancer treatment with High Source Capacity of 250 RMM (Roentgen/min. at 1 meter). The  design  of  machine  is  as  per  the  requirements  of  International Electrotechnical  Commission  (IEC)  and  the  extensive  clinical  trials  at  Tata Memorial Centre have been carried out successfully.

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