tarapur-nuclear
August 27, 2007
From: Mrityunjay Bose
From bullock carts to modern technology
THANE: In 1964 bullock carts were used in the picturesque Tarapur to transport men and material for construction of nuclear power plant. Located 100 kms away from Mumbai, this fishing village – which happens to be the ancestral village of Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha – today it symbolizes the robust nuclear power programme of India.
On August 31, it will have a revered visitor in form of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who would dedicate to the nation two 540 MW pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) – which are the single largest power producing unit in the country. That too – when the nation is caught up in a debate over the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal.
Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) houses four nuclear power reactors – TAPS 1&2 and TAPS 3&4. While TAPS 1&2 are two boiling water reactors (BWRs) that started producing power in 1969, TAPS 3&4 are PHWRs. While TAPS 4 was commissioned 2005, TAPS 3 was commissioned a year later.
Construction of TAPS 1&2 started in 1964 and the bullock carts were used, but now, it looks like a modern industrial township – which can match the very best in the world. From the BWRs to indigenous PHWRs – it is a major journey, which had not been easier.
Officials of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) are busy chalking out the programme for Dr Singh and his entourage.
Bolstered by the confidence of operating 540 MW – in future 700 MW PHWRs are being planned, which will give advantage of economy of scale. "Future PHWRs in the country will be of 700 MW unit size," said a senior NPCIL official, adding that eight such reactors are proposed to be launched in the XIth plan.
Tarapur is also working a lot in nuclear agriculture programme. The DAE has decided to cultivate mutated seeds at the exclusions zones of different nuclear facilities across the country including Tarapur.
Till now, the mutated seeds were tried at agricultural fields of different agricultural universities, however, now besides this these mutated seeds will also be cultivated at the exclusion zones in different nuclear facilities. "Mutated seeds are to be tried for several generations," officials said and added that the move of the DAE would greatly help the Indian farmers and researchers. The help of local farmers is also being taken for this purpose.
The nuclear agriculture programme of the DAE focuses on the use of radiation technology for the development of high-yielding mutants of pulses, oilseeds and cereals, post-harvest radiation processing of food items, fertilizers and pesticide related studies and several other areas.
Over the last few decades several crop varieties have been developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) using mutation breeding and this include groundnut (11), pigeon pea (two), black gram (four), mung bean (four), rice (one), mustard (two), jute (one) and soyabean (one). Several more varieties are in the pipeline.
An official of the society points out: "The black gram (Trombay-Akola variety) developed by BARC now accounts for 95 per cent cultivation in Maharashtra and nearly 40 per cent across the country."
(This news was first published in The Maharashtra Herald, Pune)
From: Mrityunjay Bose
From bullock carts to modern technology
THANE: In 1964 bullock carts were used in the picturesque Tarapur to transport men and material for construction of nuclear power plant. Located 100 kms away from Mumbai, this fishing village – which happens to be the ancestral village of Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha – today it symbolizes the robust nuclear power programme of India.
On August 31, it will have a revered visitor in form of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who would dedicate to the nation two 540 MW pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) – which are the single largest power producing unit in the country. That too – when the nation is caught up in a debate over the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal.
Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) houses four nuclear power reactors – TAPS 1&2 and TAPS 3&4. While TAPS 1&2 are two boiling water reactors (BWRs) that started producing power in 1969, TAPS 3&4 are PHWRs. While TAPS 4 was commissioned 2005, TAPS 3 was commissioned a year later.
Construction of TAPS 1&2 started in 1964 and the bullock carts were used, but now, it looks like a modern industrial township – which can match the very best in the world. From the BWRs to indigenous PHWRs – it is a major journey, which had not been easier.
Officials of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) are busy chalking out the programme for Dr Singh and his entourage.
Bolstered by the confidence of operating 540 MW – in future 700 MW PHWRs are being planned, which will give advantage of economy of scale. "Future PHWRs in the country will be of 700 MW unit size," said a senior NPCIL official, adding that eight such reactors are proposed to be launched in the XIth plan.
Tarapur is also working a lot in nuclear agriculture programme. The DAE has decided to cultivate mutated seeds at the exclusions zones of different nuclear facilities across the country including Tarapur.
Till now, the mutated seeds were tried at agricultural fields of different agricultural universities, however, now besides this these mutated seeds will also be cultivated at the exclusion zones in different nuclear facilities. "Mutated seeds are to be tried for several generations," officials said and added that the move of the DAE would greatly help the Indian farmers and researchers. The help of local farmers is also being taken for this purpose.
The nuclear agriculture programme of the DAE focuses on the use of radiation technology for the development of high-yielding mutants of pulses, oilseeds and cereals, post-harvest radiation processing of food items, fertilizers and pesticide related studies and several other areas.
Over the last few decades several crop varieties have been developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) using mutation breeding and this include groundnut (11), pigeon pea (two), black gram (four), mung bean (four), rice (one), mustard (two), jute (one) and soyabean (one). Several more varieties are in the pipeline.
An official of the society points out: "The black gram (Trombay-Akola variety) developed by BARC now accounts for 95 per cent cultivation in Maharashtra and nearly 40 per cent across the country."
(This news was first published in The Maharashtra Herald, Pune)
Comments