The newly constructed Rajasthan Atomic Power Station's unit 5 (RAPS-5) of 220 MW located at Rawatbhata,which has come under the fold of international safeguards,is likely to be commissioned soon. The imported Uranium fuel from Russia has already been loaded on it under the supervision of IAEA inspectors,Atomic energy department sources said. Following the notification of the Separation Plan of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last month under which 14 nuclear plants will be under the umbrella of India Specific Safeguards Agreement (ISSA) of international atomic watchdog,RAPS-5 is the first indigenously built unit that has come under international safeguards,the sources said. Notification of Separation Plan of the specified civilian plants and few scientific institutions to IAEA was some of the conditions to enable international civil nuclear co-operation. The procedures for criticality (chain reaction) of RAPS-5 will begin anytime during the next seven days as the heavy water,moderator and coolant,is being loaded on this Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) since yesterday,the sources said. By the end of this year,the unit will be synchronized to the northern grid.
