Societal Applications of Nuclear Technology in Health Care, Industry and Water Resource Management in India

Nuclear reactors and charged particle accelerators have made it possible to produce and use a variety of radionuclides, which find a wide range of applications in varied areas of the society. Currently, majority of radionuclides are made artificially by transforming a stable nuclide into an unstable state and thus far over 2500 radionuclides have been produced artificially. The curiosity to use the radiations from the artificially produced radio-isotopes led to their exploration for use in various fields immediately after their production and the last century has witnessed tremendous growth in the applications of radiation and radioisotopes, in diverse fields such as medicine, industry, agriculture, food preservation, water resource management, environmental studies etc. An attempt is made here to briefly outline some important applications of radioisotopes and radiation in the fields of health care, industry and water resource management, in India. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Indra Gandhi Centre of Atomic Research