4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 1 of 60 Session I.4.8 Part I Review of Fundamentals Module 4Sources of Radiation Session 8Research Reactors IAEA Post Graduate Educational Course Radiation Protection and Safe Use of Radiation Sources

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 2 of 60 Overview  In this session we will discuss the types of Research Reactors  We will also discuss where these Research Reactors are located

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 3 of 60 Introduction  Research Reactors  Not used to generate electrical power  Produce neutrons for various uses  Use higher enriched 235 U than power reactors  Approximately 238 worldwide

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 4 of 60 Types  Pool type (67 units)  Curved aluminum clad fuel plates  Control rods  Water for moderation and cooling  Beryllium or graphite neutron reflectors common  Empty channels for experiments  Apertures for neutron beams  Tank Type (32 units)

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 5 of 60 Types  TRIGA (40 units)  cylindrical fuel elements (36 mm diameter)  Uranium fuel and zirconium hydride moderator  Water for moderation and cooling  Beryllium or graphite neutron reflectors common  Pulsed up to 25,000 MW

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 6 of 60 Types Some produce radioisotopes TypeNumber Critical assemblies (zero power) 60 Test reactors 23 Training facilities 37 Prototypes2 Generating electricity 1 Research160

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 7 of 60 Types  Some moderated by heavy water (12) or graphite  Some are fast reactors (no moderator and mixed U - Pu fuel)

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 8 of 60 Fuel  Typically a few kilograms  High enriched uranium (HEU) >20% 235 U compared to 3-5% for power reactors  Typically plates or cylinders of Uranium-Aluminum alloy clad with pure Aluminum compared to ceramic UO 2 pellets in power reactors

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 9 of 60 Fuel  Security concerns over the use of HEU have led to development of high-density, low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel  Fuel density for U-Al fuel increased from g/cm 3 to g/cm 3 as enrichment decreased  In 1996, with the Summer Olympics scheduled to be held in Atlanta, Georgia in the USA, security concerns caused Georgia Tech University to remove the HEU from its research reactor

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 10 of 60 Uses  Analysis and testing of material  Production of radioisotopes  Fusion research  Environmental science  Advanced material development  Drug design  Nuclear medicine

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 11 of 60 Uses

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 12 of 60 Uses  Neutron scattering experiments to study structure of materials at atomic level  Neutron activation for detecting presence of small amounts of material

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 13 of 60 Uses  Radioisotope production  90 Y from 89 Y for treatment of liver cancer  99 Mo from fission of 235 U foil to produce 99m Tc for nuclear medicine

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 14 of 60 Uses  Industrial processing  Neutron transmutation doping of silicon crystals  Study changes resulting from intense neutron bombardment (e.g., embrittlement of steel)

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 15 of 60 Spent Fuel  U-Al fuels can be reprocessed in France  United States has offered to take back spent fuel resulting from fuel originally supplied by the US

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 16 of 60 Chicago Pile Reactors CP-2

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 17 of 60 Chicago Pile Reactors CP-3

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 18 of 60 Chicago Pile Reactors CP-5

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 19 of 60  zero ‑ power full ‑ scale reactor core mockup assemblies used to:  gain understanding of a variety of reactor concepts  assist in the engineering design of these reactor systems Zero Power Reactor

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 20 of 60 Zero Power Reactor ZPR ‑ 2, a heavy ‑ water reactor, began operation in 1952 and was used in the development of the Savannah power reactors used for plutonium production

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 21 of 60 Zero Power Reactor ZPR ‑ 6, designed to advance fast reactor technology for civilian power use, went into operation in July 1963

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 22 of 60 Test Reactors The Materials Test Reactor (MTR) completed in 1952 in Idaho was the workhorse of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's test reactor program for many years. It was the first reactor to be built solely for testing materials to be used in other reactors.

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 23 of 60 Test Reactors The Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT), a pulsed, graphite - moderated reactor, was designed to safely generate very large integrated bursts of thermal neutrons for use in destructive testing of fast reactor fuel elements. This reactor began operation in February 1959 at ANL ‑ Idaho.

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 24 of 60 SLOWPOKE Large sample irradiation tube Small sample irradiation tube Central control rod Beryllium annulus Lower beryllium reflector

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 25 of 60 SLOWPOKE

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 26 of 60 SLOWPOKE  prime functions are to perform nondestructive elemental analysis and produce quantities of selected radioactive material for use in industry and medicine  SLOWPOKE laboratories have been utilized in a number of different fields such as:  Trace element identification  Radiotracer supply  Forensic science  Environmental analysis  Radioactivity counting

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 27 of 60 Trace Element Identification  The SLOWPOKE Facility can analyze samples for a number of elements simultaneously, with a sensitivity at the ppm level  The analytical techniques used require minimal sample preparation and are nondestructive permitting retention of valuable samples or reuse of the same sample for further measurements  The technique can be both rapid and inexpensive and over 30 elements can be readily identified SLOWPOKE

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 28 of 60 Radiotracer Supply  The SLOWPOKE Reactor can produce highly useful short-lived radioactive tracers  Some of the applications for which radioactive tracers have been produced by SLOWPOKE include:  Industry (example - leak detection)  Medicine (example - labeling of pharmaceuticals ) SLOWPOKE

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 29 of 60 Forensic Science  Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) can be used to identify elements in samples that provide clues to solving cases:  Arsenic in suspected poisoning cases can be determined in hair samples SLOWPOKE

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 30 of 60 Environmental Analysis  The techniques of neutron activation analysis (NAA) can also be applied to measure the elemental composition of environmental samples:  Toxic organo-chlorine compounds such as PCBs, dioxins and furans can be selectively extracted from river water, effluent, settling ponds and assayed for their chlorine content by NAA  Mercury in compounds produced by industrial processes can be assayed in the same way SLOWPOKE

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 31 of 60 Radioactivity Counting  Low levels of man-made or naturally occurring radioactivity in the environment can be measured using the sophisticated analytical instrumentation at SLOWPOKE.  The fallout isotope 137 Cs provides a fixed activity- against-depth profile in undisturbed soil for soil- erosion studies  The radionuclidic purity of 125 I labelled cancer diagnostic kits can be determined SLOWPOKE

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 32 of 60 SLOWPOKE Reactor Specifications TypePool and Tank Licensed limit20 kW FuelExtruded Uranium/aluminum alloy ModeratorLight water CoolingConvection/conduction Core diameter/height22cm/22.1cm Critical mass 235 U g Fuel life6.4 x nvt (at small inner sites) Irradiation Parameters ParameterInner SitesOuter Sites Thermal flux1 x x 10 12

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 33 of 60 TRIGA  most widely used non ‑ power nuclear reactor in the world  In 24 countries, 66 in use or under construction at:  universities  government and industrial laboratories  medical centers

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 34 of 60 TRIGA  used in many diverse applications  production of radioisotopes for medicine and industry  treatment of tumors  nondestructive testing  basic research on the properties of matter  education and training  operate at thermal power levels from less than 0.1 to 16 megawatts and pulsed to 22,000 megawatts

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 35 of 60 TRIGA

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 36 of 60 High Flux Isotope Reactor

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 37 of 60 High Flux Isotope Reactor

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 38 of 60 High Flux Isotope Reactor

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 39 of 60 High Flux Isotope Reactor

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 40 of 60 Egypt

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 41 of 60 Egypt

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 42 of 60 Egypt

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 43 of 60 Egypt

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 44 of 60 Germany

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 45 of 60 India

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 46 of 60 India KAMINI - REACTOR ItemDescription Nature of Reactor systemTank type Reactor vault size2.8m X 6.2m X 6.7 m high Reactor tank size2 m dia., 4.18 m high, 12 mm thk. Nominal power30 KW FuelU-233 (20 Wt %) - Al alloy Number of fuel subassemblies9 Fuel plates per subassembly8 Gap between fuel plates6 mm Fuel plate size2 mm X 62 mm X 260 mm Fuel assembly size66 mm X 66 mm X 275 mm Total fuel inventory600 g Core size204 mm X 204 mm X 275 mm

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 47 of 60 India KAMINI - REACTOR ItemDescription Reflector materialBeO encased in Zircaloy Thickness200 mm Number of reflector modules20 Moderator/Coolant/Shield materialDemineralized water Quantity12.5 MT Core cooling modeBy natural convection Type of controlBy absorber plates Absorber materialCadmium Beam tubes3 Flux at outer end of beam tube10E+6 to 10E+7 n/ cm 2 /sec Flux at irradiation sites10E+11 to 10E+12 n/cm 2 /sec Core flux10E+12 n/cm 2 /sec Capsule size for transfer system12 mm dia. X 30 mm long Max. sample size (thimble irradiation)30 mm dia. X 50 mm long

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 48 of 60 Korea

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 49 of 60 Pakistan PARR-1

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 50 of 60 Thailand

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 51 of 60 Location Russia62 United States 54 Japan18 France15 Germany14 China13

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 52 of 60 CountryTypePowerEnrichmentSource of fuel KW% Argentinapool50090USA AustriaTriga25020 ‑ 70 USA Argonaut1020 ‑ 90USA Australiaheavy water10,00060UK, USA Belgiumtank100,00074 ‑ 93USA Canadapool5,00093USA Slowpoke20 (x 3)93USA Chilepool2,00090France pool5,00020 ‑ 45USA HEU Research Reactors Worldwide

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 53 of 60 CountryTypePowerEnrichmentSource of fuel KW% ChinaCrit fast0.0590China tank125,00090China MNSR2790China pool500090China MNSR30 ‑ 33 (x 3)90China Czech Reptank10,00036Russia pool536Russia HEU Research Reactors Worldwide

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 54 of 60 CountryTypePowerEnrichmentSource of fuel KW% Francepool0.190 ‑ 93USA Tank in pool0.13 ‑ 93USA, France Crit fast312 ‑ 25USA heavy water58,30093USA pool14,00093USA FBR563,00022 ‑ 28France Argonaut10093USA homogeneous193USA HEU Research Reactors Worldwide

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 55 of 60 CountryTypePowerEnrichmentSource of fuel KW% Germanypool4,00045 ‑ 93USA heavy water23,00080 ‑ 93USA pool10,00020 ‑ 93USA tank0.0136Russia GhanaMNSR3090China Greecepool520 ‑ 93USA Hungarytank10,00036Russia Israelpool5,00093USA HEU Research Reactors Worldwide

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 56 of 60 CountryTypePowerEnrichmentSource of fuel KW% Indiapool100093UK & France FBR40,00055 ‑ 70India IranMNSR3090China ItalyFast source593USA JamaicaSlowpoke2093USA JapanArgonaut0.0190USA tank500093USA Crit fast220 ‑ 93USA, UK Tank50,00020 ‑ 46USA Crit assembly0.145 ‑ 93USA HEU Research Reactors Worldwide

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 57 of 60 CountryTypePowerEnrichmentSource of fuel KW% Korea Ð Northpool8,00036Russia Kazakhstanpool6,00036Russia tank10,00036Russia tank60,00090Russia Libyapool10,00080Russia MexicoTriga ‑ 70USA NetherlandsArgonaut3090USA pool ‑ 93USA Tank in pool45,00093USA PakistanMNSR3090China HEU Research Reactors Worldwide

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 58 of 60 CountryTypePowerEnrichmentSource of fuel KW% Polandpool30,00036 ‑ 80Russia Portugalpool100093USA RomaniaTriga14,00020 ‑ 93USA Russiavarious(39 units,VariousRussia 12 over 1 MW) 12 over 1 MW) South AfricaTank in pool20,00087 ‑ 93S.Africa Swedenpool100093USA Switzerlandhomogenous290USA SyriaMNSR3090China HEU Research Reactors Worldwide

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 59 of 60 CountryTypePowerEnrichmentSource of fuel KW% UKFast burst UK Pool10080UK Ukrainetank10,00036Russia USAvarious(22 unitsVariousUSA MW or more) MW or more) Uzbekistantank10,00036Russia Vietnampool50036Russia Yugoslaviaheavy water0.001Up to 80Russia Total of 38 countries with about 130 units (data published in 2000) Taiwanpool3093USA HEU Research Reactors Worldwide

4/2003 Rev 2 I.4.8 – slide 60 of 60 Where to Get More Information  Cember, H., Introduction to Health Physics, 3 rd Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York (2000)  Firestone, R.B., Baglin, C.M., Frank-Chu, S.Y., Eds., Table of Isotopes (8 th Edition, 1999 update), Wiley, New York (1999)  International Atomic Energy Agency, The Safe Use of Radiation Sources, Training Course Series No. 6, IAEA, Vienna (1995)