BARC gives radiation detection, measurement instruments to GITAM Deemed-to-be-University, Hyderabad
The instruments will allow GITAM faculty to hold workshops and training sessions for radiochemistry students on the measurement of Beta and Gamma radiation
Indian Association of Nuclear Chemists & Allied Scientists (IANCAS), a scientific body of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, has gifted instruments worth Rs 3 lakhs to the Hyderabad campus of GITAM deemed-to-be-university which will enable students to detect and measure radiation and handle radioisotopes safely. The instruments include a Geiger Muller counter for the measurement of Beta radiation and a Gamma Scintillation Detector to measure Gamma radiation.
The BARC scientists were at GITAM Hyderabad to deliver a five-day national workshop on “Radiochemistry and Application of Radioisotopes” for 45 GITAM School of Science faculty members and 20 professors from other universities around the country (4th to 8th April 2022)
Prof GA Rama Rao, Principal, School of Science, GITAM Deemed-to-be-University, Hyderabad, a retired Scientific Officer from BARC, Mumbai: “We thank you, BARC, for gifting such important equipment to GITAM. This will help us hold practical training sessions for our radiochemistry students to measure Beta and Gamma radiation.”
The BARC scientists used the instruments to demonstrate to the participants that daily use products such as soap and salt contain enough naturally occurring K-40 radioisotopes to emit Beta radiation. The air we breathe also includes Beta radiation in the form of Radon gas, which they demonstrated by collecting air samples from the classroom.
The BARC experts taught the basics of radioactivity, decay, radiation, detection and measurement, as well as the application of radioisotopes in areas like chemical sciences, physics, medicine, industry and agriculture. Lab experiments were conducted using radioisotopes like Cobalt-60, Cobalt-67, Thallium-204, Potassium-40 and Cesium-137.
