SAFARI-1 is a 20 MW light water-cooled, beryllium reflected, pool-type
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 marit ...
, initially used for high level
nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter.
Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
research programmes and was commissioned in 1965.
The reactor is owned and operated by
South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA) at their facility in
Pelindaba,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
.
The reactor is a
tank in pool type reactor
and is designed to run on
enriched uranium
Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (2 ...
. Currently the fuel in use is the remains of the decommissioned
South African nuclear weapons.
History
The reactor was built in cooperation with the
Atoms for Peace
"Atoms for Peace" was the title of a speech delivered by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in New York City on December 8, 1953.
The United States then launched an "Atoms for Peace" program that supplied equipmen ...
program run by the US DOE in the 1950s and '60s.
Planning started in 1960 and construction occurred between 1961 and 1965. In March 1965 the reactor was commissioned and initially operated at 6.75 MW, a limitation imposed by the capacity of the secondary cooling circuit. Output was increased to 20 MW in 1968 after the secondary cooling circuit was upgraded.
Initially the reactor was fueled with
HEU supplied by the United States, but in 1975 exports of HEU from the USA to South Africa was suspended in protest of South Africa's
nuclear weapons program and the construction of the
Valindaba Y-plant. In order to conserve the available fuel supply, reactor output was reduced to 5 MW and operating hours were dramatically reduced
In 1979 the
Valindaba Y-plant started producing 45%
HEU and in 1981 the first fuel assemblies from
Valindaba were made available to fuel SAFARI-1. Operating hours were increased, but power was kept at 5 MW until 1993 when it was increased to 10 MW and eventually 20 MW due to the commercialisation of
NECSA operations.
The reactor was shut down for repairs in 1988 after a water leak was detected in the pool.
In 2005 it was announced that the reactor is to be converted from using
High Enriched uranium to
Low Enriched uranium as fuel.
Use
One of Safari-1s primary uses is the production of
radio isotopes
A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess nuclear energy, making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ways: emitted from the nucleus as gamma radiation; transferr ...
for
radiopharmacology
Radiopharmacology is radiochemistry applied to medicine and thus the pharmacology of radiopharmaceuticals ( medicinal radiocompounds, that is, pharmaceutical drugs that are radioactive). Radiopharmaceuticals are used in the field of nuclear med ...
use in
nuclear medicine
Nuclear medicine or nucleology is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging, in a sense, is "radiology done inside out" because it records radiation emit ...
, specifically the production of
molybdenum-99.
Radio isotopes are distributed through
NTP Radioisotopes NTP is a three-letter initialism which may stand for:
Politics
* Nation Transformation Party, a political party in Papua New Guinea
* National Toxicology Program, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
* National Transpor ...
, a subsidiary company of
NECSA
See also
*
Pelindaba
*
South African Nuclear Energy Corporation
*
Atoms for Peace
"Atoms for Peace" was the title of a speech delivered by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in New York City on December 8, 1953.
The United States then launched an "Atoms for Peace" program that supplied equipmen ...
References
External links
SAFARI-1at the
Nuclear Threat Initiative
The Nuclear Threat Initiative, generally referred to as NTI, is a non-profit organization located in Washington, D.C. The American foreign policy think tank was founded in 2001 by former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and describes itself as a "nonprofi ...
NTP RadioisotopesThe Woodrow Wilson Center's Nuclear Proliferation International History Projector NPIHP is a global network of individuals and institutions engaged in the study of international nuclear history through archival documents, oral history interviews and other empirical sources.
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Nuclear research reactors
Nuclear technology in South Africa
South African nuclear sites
Research in South Africa
Buildings and structures in North West (South African province)
1965 in South Africa
South Africa–United States relations