Tarapur reprocessing plant moves India to second stage of n-programme

Tarapur: A 100-tonne annual capacity reprocessing plant at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) here, which will use spent fuel from indigenous nuclear power plants for fast breeder reactors, was today dedicated to the nation by prime minister Manmohan Singh.

The sophisticated complex is located at Tarapur, a suburb of the metropolis of Mumbai on the country's west coast.

Congratulating the scientists on their achievement prime minister Singh said the reprocessing plant was essential for the country's closed-fuel-cycle, three-stage nuclear programme.

"The spent fuel reprocessing plant is a milestone in India's three-stage nuclear programme," he said.

The plant is also essential for the transition from the first stage to the second (of the programme) for building fast breeder reactors to produce sustainable and clean energy for the country, Singh said.

"Tarapur itself will set an example of clean, economic and safe energy that our nation requires," he said.