Uranium Enrichment Plant
| Other Name: | Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) |
|---|---|
| Location: | Mumbai, Trombay, India |
| Subordinate To: | Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) |
| Size: | Reportedly operates 100 gas centrifuges and produces 2 kilograms of weapons-grade uranium per year |
| Facility Status: | Operational |
The Uranium Enrichment Plant was developed in Trombay during the early 1980s while India was acquiring centrifuge technology. The facility was completed in 1985 as a pilot-scale ultracentrifuge plant. Enriched uranium from this facility was later fabricated into fuel for the CIRUS and Dhruva nuclear reactors. In 1990, a larger uranium enrichment facility, the Rare Materials Project, began operating at Mysore.
As of the early 1990s, the Uranium Enrichment Plant was operating 100 gas centrifuges. The facility reportedly has the capacity to produce two kilograms of weapons-grade uranium per year. It is not under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
Sources:
[1] Arunkumar Bhatt, "New BARC Chief Assumes Charge," The Hindu (Chennai), 4 April 2001, www.hindu.com;
[2] DAE (Government of India), "Annual Report 1985-1986"; DAE (Government of India), "Annual Report 2001-2002," Executive Summary available at www.dae.gov.in;
[3] David Albright and Mark Hibbs, "India's Silent Bomb," Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, www.bullatomsci.org;
[4] "India: Nuclear Infrastructure," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, www.ceip.org;
[5] "India and Pakistan: Nuclear Capabilities," Pakistan Alert Network, www.pakalert.net;
[6] Nicholas Berry, "Building the Indian Bomb," Center for Defense Information, 19 May 1998, www.cdi.org;
[7] "Organization," Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), 19 February 2003, www.barc.ernet.in.
This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, or agents. Copyright © 2011 by MIIS.
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