Kalpakkam to celebrate BARC's 50 yrs

Chennai, June 11: A year-long celebration to mark the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre's (BARC) ''50 years'' of service to the nation will be organised by its Kalpakkam facility here from tomorrow.

Eminent scientist and MS Swaminathan Research Foundation Chairman M S Swaminathan will inaugurate the programmes tomorrow, which will be presided over by BARC-Mumbai Director S Banerjee.

The programmes included special lectures by eminent scientists and personalities from various fields, open houses to the various divisions of the BARC, plant visits and quiz programmes for school children and science exhibitions for schools and engineering colleges.

Dr Swaminathan will also deliver the first of the series of special lectures to mark BARC's golden jubilee celebrations.

A few select schools, both in rural and urban areas, would receive special assistance from BARC in terms of equipment and other facilities for upgrading their science laboratories, a press release here said.

BARC has a significant presence in the Kalpakkam nuclear complex, where five of its major divisions are located. The facilities include Centralised Waste Management Facility, Water and Steam Chemistry Division, Kalpakkam Reprocessing Plant and Nuclear Desalination Demonstration Project.

Apart from these, Nuclear Recycle Group, BARC, is setting up three major facilities viz Waste Immobilisation Plant, Power Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant and Spent Fuel Storage Facility at Kalpakkam, the release said.

UNI