Experts to discuss radiation safety at Mangalore University

Nuclear scientists across the world will gather to examine India’s nuclear programme at a three-day conference at Mangalore University on March 15.

About 150 scientists from the department of atomic energy  and 75 scientists from nuclear power plants of India, universities and institutions will participate in the conference on ‘Radiological protection and safety in nuclear reactors and radiation installations,’ organised jointly by the Indian Association for Radiation Protection and University Science Instrumentation Centre of Mangalore University.

“It will not be another run-of-the-mill conference. It is organised by an NGO, which has taken into account the concerns of the people who have their homes around their surroundings. It was not easy to put together 225 nuclear scientists on one platform and asking them to deliberate on the radiation safety,” said Prof TS Shivashankarmurthy, vice-chancellor, Mangalore University.

The university has also carried out extensive studies on radiation levels, radionuclide distribution, and transfer of radionuclides through terrestrial, aquatic and atmospheric pathways in the environment of West Coast of India, including the Kaiga nuclear power plant. “The Radioecology Laboratory of University Science Instrumentation Centre, Mangalore University, is engaged in frontline research studies on different aspects of environmental radioactivity and radiation protection for the last 20 years in collaboration with the department of atomic energy,” he said.

The baseline studies on radioactivity levels around Kaiga were carried out even before the nuclear power plant became operational. The data generated through these studies are highly valuable for future impact assessments. The nuclear power plant became operational in 1999 and since then Mangalore University was engaged in detailed studies on radiological impact assessment studies.