President to open N-waste management unit in Kalpakkam

Chennai: President Pranab Mukherjee will Friday inaugurate the nuclear waste immobilisation plant (WIP) of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at Kalpakkam near here through video conferencing from Mumbai, the research agency said.

In a statement Thursday, BARC said Mukherjee would also inaugurate four other advanced facilities set up by it. The president will participate at the graduation function of BARC training school Friday and give the Homi Bhabha Award to the toppers in each discipline. He would also dedicate to the nation the most popular variety of BARC-developed mutant groundnut called TAG 24 (Trombay-Akola-Groundnut). According to BARC, it has developed 41 improved crop mutant varieties, especially of pulses and oil seeds which have been released for commercial cultivation. India`s premier atomic research agency said the new WIP is co-located with its reprocessing facility near Kalpakkam nuclear power plant. The facility, apart from vitrification - transforming a liquid into glass - will also handle intermediate nuclear waste, separation of residual uranium from high level liquid waste.