The Çekmece Nuclear Research and Training Center ( tr, Çekmece Nükleer Araştırma ve Eğitim Merkezi), known as ÇNAEM, is the primary

nuclear research 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 ...

and training center of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The organization was established on March 6, 1958 as a subunit of Turkish Atomic Energy Administration ( tr, Türkiye Atom Enerjisi Kurumu, TAEK) at

Küçükçekmece Küçükçekmece (; meaning “small-drawer”, from much earlier ''Rhagion'' and ''Küçükçökmece as “little breakdown''" or “''little depression''”, in more ancient times just as Bathonea), is a suburb and district of Istanbul, Turke ...

district in the west of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. The organization's name was coined on August 12, 1960 in conjunction with its location. The groundbreaking of the facility at the eastern shore of

Lake Küçükçekmece Lake Küçükçekmece ( tr, Küçükçekmece Gölü) is a lagoon located between the Küçükçekmece, Esenyurt and Avcılar districts of the European portion of Istanbul Province, northwestern Turkey. The lake is neighbored in the south by stat ...

to house the country's first

nuclear 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 ...

was held in 1959. After completion of the construction and the start of the operation of the research reactor, the official opening of the center took place on May 27, 1962 in the presence of President

Cemal Gürsel Cemal Gürsel (; 13 October 1895 – 14 September 1966) was a Turkish army general who became the List of Presidents of Turkey, fourth President of Turkey after a coup. Early life He was born in the city of Erzurum as the son of an Ottoman A ...

. The center is directed by Ass. Prof. Dr. Gürsel Karahan.

Organization

The acquired valuable knowledge and experience at the institution led in 2010 to the reorganization of ÇNAEM. The six main service divisions newly established are:

Nuclear Technics Division

Application of nuclear technics in industry, medicine and research such as non-destructive (NDT)tests, radiopharmasotics.

Nuclear Electronics Division

Production and calibration of radiation monitors, radioactive measurement devices etc. Calibration of

ionizing radiation Ionizing radiation (or ionising radiation), including nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have sufficient energy to ionize atoms or molecules by detaching electrons from them. Some particles can travel ...

gauges and

dosimeter A radiation dosimeter is a device that measures dose uptake of external ionizing radiation. It is worn by the person being monitored when used as a personal dosimeter, and is a record of the radiation dose received. Modern electronic personal dos ...

s in the industry, medicine and security, as well as for scientific purposes.

Nuclear Technology Division

Research and operation of research reactor, reactor materials in compliance with international and national regulations for

nuclear safety Nuclear safety is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The achievement of proper operating conditions, prevention of accidents or mitigation of accident consequences, resulting in protection of workers, the public and the ...

, particularly

IAEA safeguards International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards are a system of inspection and verification of the peaceful uses of nuclear materials as part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency. ...

and subsidiary agreements.

Radioactivity Analysis and Analytics Division

Radioactivity analysis of all food, liquid, construction materials etc. Soil and water analysis for environmental purposes.

Waste Management Division

Operation of Cekmece low level radioactive waste processing and storage facility (CWPSF). R&D activities in low and high level nuclear wastes, processing and shielding materials. Implementation of national waste management programme.

Health Physics Division

Radiation Protection, controlling before licensing and radiobiological application.

Research reactor TR-1

The pool-type reactor having a capacity of 1 MW that was named TR-1, achieved criticality on January 6, 1962 at 19:14 local time. After serving 15-year long for the production of

radioisotope 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 ...

s and the neutronics experiments with the help of beam tubes, the TR-1 was shut down on September 9, 1977 as its capacity became insufficient.

Research reactor TR-2

Due to increased demand in the 1970s on nuclear research and radioisotopes in the country, the installation of a second nuclear research reactor with higher capacity was projected for the production of radioisotopes only. The reactor with an output capacity of 5 MW, called TR-2, went into service in the same building and the existing pool after becoming criticality in December 1981. The reactor started radioisotope production in 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:CNAEM Nuclear research institutes Nuclear research reactors Research institutes in Turkey Nuclear technology in Turkey Science and technology in Turkey Buildings and structures in Istanbul Organizations based in Istanbul Organizations established in 1958 Küçükçekmece 1958 establishments in Turkey