Radiation processing project at the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research

The utilization of scientific approach to preserve and sterilize the agricultural products has long been studied since 1954 and was adopted by several countries gradually since 1958. Starting from July 1977 this Institute began to study the preservation of potatoes and onions with reference to sprout inhibition which is discussed and its economical aspect is evaluated. The design concept of a megacurie 60Co irradiator at this Institute is illustrated. The progress of construction work for the irradiator and the safety device in particular are reported. Current research project on the preservation of agricultural products in this Institute is presented. (author)