"Private Entry Into Nuclear Sector Raises Waste-Liability Questions"
Three-stage nuclear programme
Bhabha's strategy moving from natural uranium to plutonium-based to thorium-based reactors.
Spent fuel
used reactor fuel still containing recoverable uranium and plutonium alongside radioactive waste.
India's nuclear power programme rests on the three-stage nuclear programme designed by Homi Bhabha in the 1950s. Stage I uses Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) running on natural uranium. The plutonium recovered from PHWR spent fuel feeds Stage II Fast Breeder Reactors. Stage III eventually uses thorium to produce Uranium-233 as fuel. Because spent fuel still contains usable uranium and plutonium, India has long treated it as a partial resource rather than pure waste, unlike most countries that send used fuel straight to permanent underground storage.
This resource framing is also linked to international non-proliferation rules. Reactors running on imported uranium are typically placed under IAEA Safeguards, restricting how their spent fuel can be used. Reactors running on domestic natural uranium generally stay outside these safeguards, which is what allows India to reprocess their spent fuel freely for the three-stage programme. This safeguards divide is central to why India's nuclear fleet is split between safeguarded and unsafeguarded reactors, and it will shape which reactors private players are allowed to build.
For decades, the entire chain, reactors, reprocessing, regulation and eventual waste disposal, sat within the government through NPCIL, BARC and the Department of Atomic Energy. The same authority bore both present operating costs and any future waste-management liability. The SHANTI Act, enacted recently, breaks this monopoly by allowing private companies and state governments into nuclear power generation for the first time. This structural shift has forced a question that government ownership always allowed policymakers to defer: once a private company's involvement with a fuel rod ends, who remains responsible for it?
Spent fuel management is not a single step but a chain. Fuel removed from a reactor is first placed in cooling pools at the plant because it remains extremely hot and radioactive. After several years, it can be moved into other storage systems, such as dry casks, freeing up pool space. This transfer solves a storage problem at the plant, but it does not decide where the fuel ultimately ends up.
If the fuel is reprocessed, it is separated into several streams: reusable uranium and plutonium, high-level radioactive waste, contaminated equipment, and metal cladding. …
In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under 'IAEA Safeguards' while others are not?
Give an account of the growth and development of nuclear science and technology in India. What is the advantage of fast breeder reactor programme in India?
Consider the following statements about IAEA Safeguards on Indian nuclear reactors:
1.All nuclear reactors in India are placed under IAEA Safeguards.
2.Reactors that use imported uranium are typically placed under IAEA Safeguards, while those using domestic uranium usually are not.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
With reference to India's three-stage nuclear power programme, match List-I (Stage) with List-II (Associated fuel/reactor type) and select the correct answer using the codes given below:
List-I:
1.Stage I
2.Stage II
3.Stage III
List-II:
A.Fast Breeder Reactor using plutonium
B.Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor using natural uranium
C.Reactor using Uranium-233 derived from thorium
Which of the following statements about the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) technology used in India is/are correct?
1.It uses natural uranium as fuel.
2.It uses heavy water as a moderator.
3.All of India's currently installed nuclear capacity is PHWR-based.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
With reference to the SHANTI Act, consider the following statements:
1.It ends the exclusive monopoly of a single public sector company by permitting private companies and state governments to participate in nuclear power generation.
2.It was enacted after India's 2008 Civil Nuclear Agreement and the associated Nuclear Suppliers Group waiver.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A 'geological repository', as referred to in the context of nuclear waste management, is best described as:
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