Research reactors have the power to influence science, education, industry and medicine, but tapping into their full potential takes strategic planning. Although some of the 224 research reactors currently in operation across 53 countries are used to their full capacity, several are underutilized.
“Many research reactors were built to address an immediate need at that time. Now, many years later, their mission statement must be reviewed,” said Nuno Pessoa Barradas, Research Reactor Specialist at the IAEA. Utilization is one of the many areas that will be explored next week at the IAEA's International Conference on Research Reactors: Addressing Challenges and Opportunities to Ensure Effectiveness and Sustainability in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 25 to 29 November.
Many of today’s operational research reactors were built during the 1950s and 60s when they were a new tool, and many countries were interested in exploring and discovering their potential. Now that this potential is better understood and new applications are being developed, it has become widely recognized that some research reactors could be better utilized to harness their full potential.
Many countries are now actively collaborating to maximize the use of existing research reactors, and some have already built, or are planning to build, new research reactors with plans for maximum utilization. The aim is to fully harness the benefits of these powerful tools for many uses, such as developing nuclear power programmes, pursuing research and development, providing analysis and irradiation services and producing radioisotopes to be used in medicine and industry.
Over the last 5 years, experts and officials from over 40 countries have received support from the IAEA in setting priorities and improving business plans for more than 50 research reactors. These plans typically involve assessing the national and regional needs for the research reactor’s potential services and products, prioritizing these needs and matching them to the reactor’s capabilities and defining the objectives for a reactor’s long-term, sustainable operation.
Utilization and strategic planning are areas of particular importance to us and our stakeholders. The IAEA mission helped us to zoom in on strengthening our user community and enhancing our scientific capability in new areas.