Lok Sabha Question No. 4319 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-26
Subject: Safe Production of Atomic Energy
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: Dr. Thirumaavalavan Tholkappiyan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 4319 ANSWERED ON 26/03/2025

## SAFE PRODUCTION OF ATOMIC ENERGY

## 4319. DR. THIRUMAAVALAVAN THOLKAPPIYAN

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:-

- (a) whether the Government has done any research for the safe production of atomic energy and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  the  Government  apart  from  Electricity  production  has  developed  the  atomic energy uses in agriculture, biology, industry and medicine; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) Yes.  Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has done extensive research for the safe  production  of  atomic  energy.    Highest  priority  is  accorded  to  safety  in  all aspects  of  nuclear  power  viz.  siting,  design,  construction,  commissioning  and operation.    Nuclear  power  plants  are  designed  based  on  the  paramount  safety principles  of  defence  in  depth,  Redundancy,  Diversity  and  Fail-safe  design features; thus, ensuring multiple barriers between the source of radioactivity and the environment.  The operations are performed through well laid out procedures by highly qualified, trained and licensed personnel.

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) a constituent unit of DAE, has done extensive  research  &  is  providing  technological  support  to  Nuclear  Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) for safe operation of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) based Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) under normal and off-normal  conditions.    The  research  field  includes  development  of  reactor materials,  effect  of  irradiation  on  materials,  nuclear  &  radiation  monitoring instrumentation,  reactor  control  system  and  many  more.  The  plant  safety  is

ensured  through  R&D  done  for  structural  integrity,  thermal  hydraulic  and radiation safety. The research ensured defence in depth philosophy practiced in NPP design  and  operations.  R&D  is  also  done  for  other  operating  reactors  on similar line to ensure safe operation.  Similarly, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research  (IGCAR)  has  done  extensive  research  on  Fast  Breeder  Reactor technology.

- (b) & (c) Yes.  Department  of  Atomic  Energy  is  a  multi-disciplinary  Nuclear  Research Centre  of  India  having  excellent  infrastructure  for  advanced  Research  and Development  with  expertise  covering  the  entire  spectrum  of  usages  of  atomic energy.    DAE  plays  a  crucial  role  in  various  societal  sectors  such  as  nuclear agriculture & food preservation, health care, water treatment, waste management, and  hydrogen  production  through  its  extensive  research and  technological advancements. Various technologies pertaining to societal applications developed by DAE are mentioned below:

## Nuclear Agriculture & Food Preservation:

1. To ensure food security in years to come, DAE has well laid programmes for crop  improvement,  food  preservation  using  radiation  technology  for  food security.  Using  radiation  induced  mutagenesis  along  with  cross  breeding, BARC has developed varieties in oilseeds (groundnut, mustard, soybean and sunflower),  pulses  (urdbean,  mungbean,  pigeonpea  and  cowpea),  rice,  jute and  wheat  etc.  Total  70  (seventy)  improved  crop  varieties  have  been developed, Gazette notified and released for commercial cultivation across the  country.  These  crop  varieties  have  desirable  traits  such  as  high  yield, disease resistance, early maturity, climate resilience, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance etc.
2. Preservation  of  food  forms  another  important  area  for  Food  Security. Feasibility of food irradiation for preservation has been studied for a number of  agricultural  and  food  commodities  for  several  years.  Food  Safety  and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified 'Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Sixth Amendment, 2016 and the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Fourth

Amendment,  2016'  related  to  standards  and  labelling  requirements  for irradiated foods.

Radiation  processing  of  food  is  very  effective  in  treating  the  agricultural produce and flesh foods.  Extension of shelf life of these produces is very much dependent on the produce, variety and storage conditions.

BARC has developed radiation-based technology for setting up irradiation plants and protocols for gamma irradiation of several food items to extend their shelf life, provide safe foods and promote exports. A large number of food items for various objectives are being irradiated commercially.

Standard  Operating  Procedures  (SOPs)  involving  gamma  irradiation  and subsequent storage in controlled environment have been developed for shelflife  extension  of  onion  and  potatoes  up  to  7.5  months  and  8  months, respectively,  while  retaining  the  quality  attributes.  Large-scale  trials  have been  carried  out  for  the  same.  SOPs  involving  radiation  technology  has successfully demonstrated extended shelf life of mangoes to facilitate export through  sea  route.  SOPs  for  shelf-life  extension  of  cereals,  wheat,  spices, mushroom, fruits & vegetables such as green tomato, broccoli, poultry, fish and fishery products have also been developed.

Some of the irradiation-based food preservation technologies, developed and transferred  to  private  entrepreneur  for  commercialisation,  are  preservative free Shelf Stable Jamun product, Sprouts & Sweet Corn Kernels, intermediate moisture shrimp and ready-to-eat (RTE) intermediate moisture (IM) fruits cubes.

Litchi Treatment plant based upon BARC technology was set-up at National Research Centre on Litchi, ICAR located at Mushahari, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. An Indian patent has been awarded to this technology which increases the shelf-life of litchi up to 60 days.

3. Eco-friendly and biodegradable BARC-hydrogel, which can absorb water up to 550 times of its weight has been developed and deployed for agriculture in arid regions.

4. Gamma Chamber Facility at IGCAR, has been used for irradiation of seeds and plants by various universities for research purposes.

## Medicine & Biology:

## 1. Radioisotopes:

Nuclear  Medicine  uses  radioactive  isotopes  (radio-isotopes)  for  the  noninvasive  diagnosis  of  several  human  diseases,  including  in  the  area  of 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.  BARC  regularly produces radio-isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals and supply through Board of  Radiation  and  Isotope  Technology  (BRIT)  to  various  nuclear  medicine centres across India for diagnostics and therapeutic application for treatment of various types of cancers.

BARC has developed and demonstrated partition technology for recovery of caesium-137,  strontium-90  and  ruthenium-106  from  high  level  waste  for medical applications. Non-dispersible glass pencils containing caesium-137 are  being  used  in  blood  irradiators.  Strontium-90  is  used  for  milking  of yttrium-90 for cancer treatment. Cost effective 106 RuBy (ruthenium brachytherapy) plaques (round, notched, paediatric) has been developed for eye cancer treatment and supplied to various hospitals in the country.

2. Chlorophyllin tablet has been developed by BARC  as regenerative nutraceutical and antioxidant and launched by a licensee with a commercial name of Aktocyte.  The tablets are approved by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) as nutraceutical.
3. BARC is significantly contributing in the field of Nuclear Medicine and for diagnostic and therapeutic services for cancer treatment through its clinical patient services units at Radiation Medicine Centre (RMC), Mumbai.
4. NOx releasing  dressing  for  the  treatment  of  diabetic  foot  ulcer  and  other chronic wounds has been developed. The technology has been transferred to two private firm and Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) approval has been obtained for manufacturing & commercialisation.

5. Thermal Imaging for Early Detection of Breast Cancer - Technique has been applied  for  early  detection  of  breast  cancer  successfully  as  an  adjunct imaging modality in rural area and is now proposed on a larger scale.
6. Radio-isotope Production: The indigenous production of Sr-89 is an important societal need and a valuable import substitution; it is a pure beta emitter  with  a  half-life  of  50.5  days  and  used  for  palliative  care  of  bone metastatic  cancer.  Production  of  Sr-89  with  high  specific  activity  at  Fast Breeder  Test  Reactor  (FBTR),  Kalpakkam  was  successfully  demonstrated. The  product  satisfied  all  the  Quality  Control  Parameters  as  per  the  US, European  and  International  Pharmacopeia.  Bio-distribution  study  is  in progress. This technology  ensures  increased  availability  and  complete import substitution.
7. 'Mobile  Health  -  Wellness  Program  for  the  Rural  Population'  is  being implemented in the rural areas in and around Chengalpattu region with DAE developed Technologies.

## Industry:

## 1. Water Treatment:

- i. Several  membranes  assisted  technologies  have  been  developed  at BARC  for  desalination  of  brackish  &  seawater  and  purification  of contaminated water for drinking purposes at domestic and/or community levels. Desalination and water purification includes purification  with  respect  to  microbiological  decontamination,  arsenic removal, iron removal, de-fluoridation, salinity and hardness removal. The technologies have been transferred to several private entrepreneurs on  non-exclusive  basis  for  commercialisation  and  field  deployment. BARC has installed BARC developed water purification technologies in 200 equivalent villages in India including BSF border posts at Kutch &  Barmer  posts,  Central  Railway  platforms  in  Mumbai  and  Indian Railway's Deen Dayalu coaches.
- ii. BARC  has  developed  Hybrid  granular  Sequencing  Batch  Reactor (hgSBR)  technology for treatment of sewage  waste water.  The

technology  has  been  successfully  transferred  to  private  entrepreneurs for  commercialisation.  The  technology  was  successfully  deployed  in the Kumbh 2021 and Maha Kumbh 2025.

- iii. A technology  for  removal  of  dye  from  effluent  from  textile  industry has been developed and successfully demonstrated in a textile plant at Jodhpur.

## 2. Waste Management:

Sludge Hygienisation: BARC  has  developed radiation hygienisation technology  for  treating  dry  sewage  sludge  &  converting  into  organic manure. 100 tons/day dry sludge hygienisation plants have been set up and operationalised  by  Ahmedabad  and  Indore  Municipal  Cooperation  with technological support from BARC.

Nisargruna  and  Shesha,  technologies  work  on  bio-methanation,  have  been developed  for  managing  bio-degradable  kitchen  and  garden  waste  from small housing society. The bio-gas produced during the process can be used as fuel & remaining process waste can be used as manure.

## 3. Hydrogen production:

BARC has developed and successfully  demonstrated  hydrogen  production technologies based on thermochemical processes namely; integrated process of  Iodine-Sulphur  (I-S)  and  Copper-Chlorine  (Cu-Cl)  and  electrochemical process such as alkaline water electrolyser (AWE) for industry.

4. An Online Chemical Emergency Response System (CERS) with chemical sensors,  dispersion  models  and  GIS  based  impact  assessment  modules  is developed  for  Chemical  Disaster  Management  at  industrial  sites.  The  first version of CERS is implemented for Ammonia storage facilities of FACT Cochin, Kerala.

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