The Kalpakkam Desalination Plant was inaugrated by PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the occasion of Homi Bhabha's birthday from BARC. Here is the article from Hindusthan Times.Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today inaugurated new facilities developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre on the occasion of 93rd birth anniversary of BARC's founder Dr Homi Bhabha.
After presenting the Indian Nuclear Society Awards and Deaprtment of Atomic Energy awards for Life time achievement and excellence in science to outstanding scientists, Vajpayee dedicated the facilities to the nation by remote control.
The facilities included sea water nuclear desalination plant at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu and +Krushak+, a radiation processing plant for Onions and Potato at Lasalgaon in Maharashtra.
Other facilities opened by the Prime Minister today are the Medical cylcotron--Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in Radiation Medical Centre at Parel in Central Mumbai, and Uranium-thorium separation plant in Trombay.
He also rededicated the refurbished forty-year-old 40 MW research reactor at Trombay. The reactor was first dedicated to the nation in 1961 by prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
BARC's desalination plant of Kalpakkam is a demonstration plant to convert seawater into potable water. With a capacity of 4500 cubic metre per day, the plant uses seawater, steam and power from Madras Atomic Power Station to make it cost effective.
Krushak facility is also a demonstration plant using low dose of radiation to preserve agricultural commodities.
PET is an advanced diagnostic tool for cancer, cardiac, neurological and psychiatric disorders.
The uranium-Thorium facility is to process irradiated thorium rods from the research reactors in Trombay.