Mangalore University enters exclusive sphere of nuclear safety research

The facility addresses a challenging area of radiation protection in the nuclear energy industry

In a major milestone for India's nuclear safety research programme, Mangalore University stated on October 16 that it has established the country's first dedicated experimental facility for iodine aerosol generation and characterisation at its Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Radioactivity (CARER) at Mangalagangotri.

The state-of-the-art facility has been developed with financial support from the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), and scientific and technical collaboration from the Radiation Protection and Advisory Division (RP&AD), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai.

The initiative brings together the university and BARC to conduct collaborative research on radiation protection and nuclear reactor safety, thereby establishing a unique national research facility. The facility addresses a challenging area of radiation protection in the nuclear energy industry. Radioactive iodine is among the most significant radionuclides that may be released during a severe nuclear accident because of its high volatility and its potential to contribute substantially to radiation exposure of people.

Understanding the chemical transformation of iodine, its conversion into aerosols, particle growth, and its behaviour under varying environmental conditions is critical for enhancing reactor safety, emergency preparedness, and environmental protection.

A facility outside DAE

Till date, India has not had a dedicated experimental facility outside a DAE institution capable of investigating these processes under well-controlled laboratory conditions. Researchers and reactor safety analysts have largely depended on experimental data generated abroad. Establishing this indigenous facility, therefore, represents a major step toward scientific self-reliance in an area of strategic national importance, according to the university.

The facility has been developed by upgrading CARER's specially designed walk-in environmental chamber into an advanced experimental platform capable of simulating a wide range of environmental conditions. It enables precise control of temperature, relative humidity, ozone concentration, and background aerosol levels, allowing researchers to investigate iodine behaviour under conditions relevant to severe nuclear reactor accident scenarios.

The facility integrates advanced oxygen concentrators, ozone generators and monitors, iodine aerosol generation systems, and aerosol characterisation instruments to support controlled iodine aerosol generation, and the systematic investigation of its physicochemical transformations, particle formation, growth, size distribution, and deposition processes.

The experimental platform will enable scientists to generate iodine aerosol under controlled conditions and investigate its transformation into iodine oxide aerosols. It will facilitate detailed studies on vapour-to-particle conversion, aerosol formation mechanisms, particle size distribution, hygroscopic growth, and other physicochemical processes governing the transport, transformation, and environmental deposition of radioactive iodine.

The experimental data generated will provide valuable inputs for validating and improving computational models used in reactor safety analysis, source-term estimation, and accident consequence assessment.

Contribution to nationally important scientific research

Professor P. L. Dharma, Vice-Chancellor of the university, described the establishment of the facility as a significant achievement that reflects the University's growing contribution to nationally important scientific research.

"Over the past decade, CARER has evolved into one of India's leading centres for environmental radioactivity, radioecology, radiation protection, and nuclear safety research, developing several indigenous technologies and specialised research facilities that support the country's nuclear energy programme," he said.

Prof. Dharma informed that the university had gained significant recognition in radiation protection studies and that the establishment of this new facility would provide greater impetus to advanced research at the varsity.

Professor N. Karunakara, the Principal Investigator of the BRNS Research Project and Coordinator, CARER, said, "The facility has been established to provide a nationally important experimental platform for conducting experiments related to iodine aerosol behaviour under reactor accident conditions. The indigenous experimental database generated through this facility will strengthen reactor safety research, improve predictive modelling capabilities, and reduce India's dependence on overseas experimental data. The facility is expected to support collaborative research involving the DAE, BARC, universities, research institutions, and regulatory organisations."

CARER is a national centre of excellence

CARER is internationally recognised as a leading centre for research in environmental radioactivity, radioecology, radiation protection, and nuclear safety. Equipped with advanced experimental and analytical facilities, the Centre has developed several indigenous technologies and has supported collaborative research, calibration, intercomparison, and capacity-building programmes involving scientists from India and numerous countries worldwide.

The establishment of the iodine aerosol research facility reinforces CARER's position as a national centre of excellence in environmental radiation science and experimental nuclear safety research. The establishment of this unique facility demonstrates the value of sustained collaboration between a university and a premier national research laboratory. By combining the scientific capabilities of the university with the expertise of RP&AD, BARC, the facility is expected to generate high-quality indigenous experimental data and advance India's scientific self-reliance in nuclear safety research.

Collaborative studies

A team of senior scientists from BARC is currently undertaking collaborative experimental studies at the university under a research project sponsored by the BRNS. The first phase of the experimental programme commenced on October 7, and is scheduled to continue until October 22. The second phase is planned for November 2026 and the third phase for January 2027.

These collaborative studies are expected to strengthen the university's research capabilities and contribute to advancing scientific understanding in the project area.