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The INO project is of the nation's largest scientific project yet, where nearly 100 scientists, from 25 research institutes and universities across the country, would be collaborating to create new waves in particle physics with their research. It is to be constructed in Bodi West hills of Tamil Nadu’s Theni district (Pottipuram village).The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research is the nodal institution. The observatory is to be built jointly with the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology.
Salient features: It is an underground project and will comprise a complex of caverns. The main cavern, which will house the huge neutrino detector [50-kilo tonne magnetised iron calorimeter], will be 130 m long, 26 m wide, and 30 m high. Two smaller caverns will be used for setting up experiments for neutrino double detector and dark matter. Approach to this complex will be by a 2-km-long tunnel.
What is a neutrino & how is it produced? Neutrinos are the smallest particles that form the universe. An elusive elementary particle that travels at near light speeds, Neutrinos are one of the universe’s essential and most abundant ingredients. Neutrinos—fundamental particles with almost no mass that are produced either by radioactivity in the atmosphere, or by the Sun, or by high energy particles coming from space.
Importance: Neutrinos can help scientists understand some of the most fundamental questions in physics — such as understanding the evolution of the universe, figuring out the energy production mechanism in the Sun and why the universe is made up of matter, not antimatter. Studying neutrinos is difficult. They’re tough to detect since they interact so weakly with other particles.
Significance for India: A pioneer in the field of neutrino science, India was a world leader in 1965. In the mid-1990s, with the closing of the Kolar Gold Fields which was the site of the experiments, experimental neutrino research in India came to a halt, and the INO is expected to revive the lost advantage. A successful INO experiment will be a major technological and scientific national achievement
Major neutrino projects around the world: Underground: 1.Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, Canada 2.Kamioka in Japan 3. Gran Sasso, Italy. Underwater: 1.Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica. 2.Antares - under Mediterranean sea off coast of Toulon, France.
Controversies associated with INO project:
The rosy dream of INO being a full-fledged, underground science laboratory for studies in physics has run into obstacles since its inception in 2002.
Threat to biodiversity: The project faced initial setbacks when the first chosen location in Singara near Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu faced immense protest from environmental groups, due to a perceived threat to Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. It was then shifted to Bodi West Hills in Theni, where the project again raised many environmental concerns, again due to its proximity to Mathikettan Shola National Park in Kerala (situated within five km from the project site)
Issues regarding environmental clearance: The principal sticking point appears to be the environmental clearance for the project (Confusion about whether the INO was cleared in the right category by the environment ministry)
Widespread misinformation about project: Another major issue is widespread misinformation about the nature of the project. Locals fear that the excavation and blasts needed to bore the tunnel in the mountains will endanger the biodiversity of the Western Ghats. Some of the concerns voiced range from radiation, structural damage to the mountain to emission of hazardous chemicals.
Disaster risk: The INO is set to constructed in a seismologically sensitive zone, and that drilling work to be undertaken in the area could damage underwater aquifers. Idukki mullai periyar dam is near to the site which may bring a disaster to the Dam.
Costly project: Spending crores on scientific research of this kind (no direct socio-economic benefit) is a waste of money.
Counter arguments:
Radiation from the Lab could pose a threat to the biodiversity around: There will be no radiation emitting from the lab; the lab is that deep in the earth to keep out radiation (to study environmental neutrinos without the interference of cosmic radiation).
The mountain may become unstable: As INO scientists have said, the lab will not affect the structural stability of the mountain. The tunnel will be tiny, when compared to the underground mines that were operational for more than 100 years. While making the tunnel, the technological advancement will ensure that the environment is left untouched; at the most, the rock blasting will cause flutters, but that won’t last long, and normalcy will be restored in no time.
There will be hazardous chemicals and gases: To ensure safety of the experiment and the people working in the lab, the gases will be recycled many times and only then let off in controlled amounts. The equipment and the gases used for the experiment will be hermetically sealed, so there’s no chance of any pollution/contamination from there.
By: Dr. Vivek Rana ProfileResourcesReport error
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