The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI; ) in
Daejeon, South Korea was established in 1959 as the sole professional research-oriented institute for
nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
, and has rapidly built a reputation for research and development in various fields.
History
KAERI was established in 1959 as the Atomic Energy Research Institute (national research institute).
Spin off companies and institutions
KAERI has made significant contributions to the nation's nuclear technology development. After Korea achieved self-reliance in nuclear core technologies, KAERI have transferred highly developed technologies to local industries for practical applications.
* The
Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), responsible for supporting the government in regulatory and licensing works, and the Nuclear Environment Technology Institute, responsible for low and medium level
radioactive waste
Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
management, are also originally spin-offs from KAERI.
* KAERI established the present
KEPCO E&C (full name: KEPCO Engineering & Construction Company, INC., formerly: KOPEC), responsible for not only the architect engineering works of
nuclear power plants
A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power s ...
, but also for designing nuclear steam supply systems.
* KAERI also established the present Korea Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd. (KNFC), responsible for designing and manufacturing
PWR as well as
PHWR fuels.
* In 2004 the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control was spun out of KAERI.
KAERI developed chad commercialized technologies
* In 1995 KAERI designed and constructed the nation's first multipurpose
research reactor
Research reactors are nuclear fission-based nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or maritim ...
,
HANARO based on the Canadian
MAPLE
''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...
design. . Reactor based on this design exported to
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
as
Jordan Research and Training Reactor (JRTR).
* KAERI is dedicated to finding a wide range of uses for atomic energy. As examples, KAERI developed the world's first
radiopharmaceutical
Radiopharmaceuticals, or medicinal radiocompounds, are a group of pharmaceutical drugs containing radioactive isotopes. Radiopharmaceuticals can be used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Radiopharmaceuticals emit radiation themselves, which ...
"Milican injection" for treating
liver
The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
.
* The
System-Integrated Modular Advanced Reactor (SMART).
See also
*
Korea University of Science and Technology
*
Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS)
*
KEPCO E&C
*
Korea Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd. (KNFC)
*
Daedeok Innopolis
External links
KAERI website
References
{{authority control
Nuclear power in South Korea
Korea University of Science and Technology
Nuclear organizations
Research institutes in South Korea