Nuclear energy is the long term source of green energy, which will be required in future to achieve low-carbon footprint and drive long-term industrial requirement of the nation. While scientists and academicians have been aware of this, people should be sensitised to the wide ranging ‘peaceful and beneficial applications’ in power generation, medicine, industry, agriculture, space, water resources and food preservation.
This was the common theme among scientists and academicians at a one-day seminar on ‘Radiation and Environment’ organised under the aegis of Indian Nuclear Society (INS) at Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), complex on Monday.
Mass awareness of the societal benefits of nuclear energy will have a cascading effect on its acceptance, especially in rural India, which can catalyse the economic growth of the country. “Myths on environmental impact of nuclear energy should be removed,” observed AMD director D.K. Sinha.
Department of Atomic Energy’s (DAE) research efforts have also been to better crop varieties, protection, radiation based post-harvest technologies, techniques for radio-diagnosis and radiotherapy of diseases, particularly cancer, technologies for safe drinking water, rural development, industrial growth and better environment, he said.
Various organisations of DAE like Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) have been doing research on advanced technologies such as accelerators, lasers, supercomputers, advanced materials and instruments. AMD carries out exploration for uranium, thorium, rare metals and rare earths in an environmentally benign manner in various parts, including Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, explained the director.
National GeoPhysical Researc Institute’s Y.J. Bhaskar Rao, NFC’s G.V.S. Hemantha Rao, University of Hyderabad’s A.C. Narayana, JNTU’s M.V.S.S. Giridhar, N. Kavita of NIMS and BITS-Pilani-Hyderabad’s P.K.Thiruvikraman were among those who made presentations, a press release said.
NFC chief executive Dinesh Srivastava, ECIL CMD Rear Admiral Sanjay Choubey, and Uranium Corporation of India general manager M. S. Rao, attended.