Minerals Exploration and Mining
For over 50 years, the Atomic Minerals Division, now renamed as the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), has been engaged in carrying out surveys, prospecting and exploration of atomic minerals, for the Indian Nuclear Power Programme.
Heavy water production
Eight heavy water plants are installed in the country to meet the heavy water requirements of the Indian nuclear power and research reactors. The Heavy Water Board (HWB) manages the operation and maintenance of seven of these plants namely the Heavy Water Plant (Manuguru)-Andhra Pradesh, Heavy Water Plant (Kota)-Rajasthan, Heavy Water Plants (Hazira and Baroda)-Gujarat, Heavy Water Plant (Thal)-Maharashtra and Heavy Water Plant (Tuticorin)-Tamil Nadu. The first heavy water plant at Nangal (Punjab) is run and owned by the National Fertilizer Limited, Nangal. Operation of the Heavy Water Plant (Talcher)-Orissa was suspended in August 1994 due to unsatisfactory operation of the fertilizer plant of the Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited, Talcher. The plants at Manuguru and Kota, have shown good safety records. The Board has exported 100 metric tonnes of heavy water to South Korea.
Nuclear Fuel Fabrication
The technology of conversion of yellow cake into the nuclear pure uranium and the fabrication of fuel elements was developed indigenously. On the basis of the development work carried out by BARC, the first fuel element was fabricated by mid-1959. The Fuel Fabrication Plant at Trombay, in addition to producing fuel elements for the Indian research reactors, was also used for research and development on new fuels and materials. Half of the initial loading consisting of zircaloy clad uranium oxide fuel assemblies for the first unit of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station was fabricated at Trombay. Also, all the thorium oxide pellets for India’s Fast Breeder Test Reactor were fabricated here.
With the successful demonstration of the fuel fabrication technology at Trombay, the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) was set up at Hyderabad in 1971 for industrial scale manufacture of nuclear fuel assemblies for PHWRs and boiling water reactors (BWRs), and zircaloy structural materials. NFC has successfully built sophisticated machines for in-house use and components such as instrumentation tubes to very rigid specifications which have saved substantial foreign exchange. The Complex is also geared towards the development of components needed for advanced reactors such as PFBR.
Fuel Reprocessing and waste Management
Fuel reprocessing and nuclear waste management constitute the back-end of the nuclear power programme. As a result of the research and development carried out at BARC, these technologies are now fully established in the country. Plutonium, the fuel for the second stage reactors of the Indian nuclear power programme, is obtained from spent uranium fuel of PHWRs. Reprocessing of spent fuel was started with the commissioning of a 30 tonne per annum plant at Trombay in 1964. Based on the experience gained at Trombay, a fuel reprocessing plant PREFRE was set up at Tarapur. Another reprocessing plant KARP at Kalpakkam, with several novel features and concepts had successfully completed cold commissioning. KARP has a separate stream for reprocessing fuel from FBTR. A plant for reprocessing of fast reactor fuel (FRFRP) is also under construction at Kalpakkam. A lead mini plant for reprocessing of FBTR fuel is getting ready at Kalpakkam for pilot scale trials. Also, an engineering scale facility for separation of uranium-233 from irradiated thorium is coming up at Trombay.
The waste treatment, conditioning and disposal systems have been operating at various nuclear installations. Vitrification of radioactive waste in a glass matrix has been developed by BARC. A waste immobilisation plant (WIP) is operational at Tarapur and two such plants are under construction at Trombay and Kalpakkam.
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are handling homework.
Keep track of the amount of time your child spends on homework. so you can report it to the teacher
See homework as an opportunity to bond with your
child. If your child is studying a certain subject, try to rent a movie or book
to complement the homework, i.e. "make it more real". Make a commitment to help
with your child's homework. Being there to give positive feedback is essential.
Help out with in the school, volunteer to tutor after school, bake sale. Go to
teacher parent conferences with a list of questions and be willing to work with
the teacher. Provide space for homework in your home, stocked with necessary
supplies. Remove all distractions TV, radio, phone, friends. Consider doing some
of your work, such as paying bills or writing letters, during your child's
homework time. Be willing to talk to your child's teacher about problems and how
to solve them-not complain about them. Ask teacher about their expectations at
the beginning of the year.