CHENNAI: Dr LV Krishnan, a leading nuclear safety expert who helped shape India's fast breeder reactor programme, has passed away at the age of 88.
Dr Krishnan was instrumental in setting up the Safety Research Laboratory at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research in Kalpakkam, where the Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) programme was birthed. He retired as the Director of the Safety Research and Health Physics Programmes at IGCAR in 1997.
As Director, he introduced the Emergency Preparedness Plan for Kalpakkam, conducting drills that later served as a model for Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) centres across the country.
The indigenously built and operated Fast Breeder Test Reactor, whose safety aspects he oversaw, has put India on the verge of becoming the second nation after Russia to have a commercial Fast Breeder Reactor.
Dr Krishnan started his career in 1958 with the DAE after graduating in Physics from Presidency College, Chennai, and joining the second batch of the Training School at the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (now BARC).
He went on to specialise in Health Physics and Nuclear Safety, fields in which he made pioneering contributions, a colleague remembered.
After completing advanced training at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology in the US and conducting research on fast breeder reactor safety at Cadarache in France, Dr Krishnan returned to India to play a key role in building the country's nuclear safety infrastructure.
Over the course of his career, he carried out safety analyses at India's critical nuclear facilities, including the Tarapur Atomic Power Station, the Plutonium Plant at Trombay, and the Fast Breeder Test Reactor at Kalpakkam. His expertise extended to criticality calculations for plutonium facilities, as well as safety review committees for several nuclear installations across the country.
Beyond his scientific achievements, Dr Krishnan was known for his clarity as a communicator in both English and Tamil. He devoted considerable energy in propagating the safety and societal benefits of atomic energy and towards making science more popular.
He is survived by his wife and two sons.