As a member of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, South Africa uses nuclear science for peaceful means. South Africa's nuclear programme includes both nuclear energy and

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 emitting ...

. In the past there was also a military component, and South Africa previously possessed nuclear weapons, which were subsequently dismantled.

Nuclear energy

Koeberg

The Koeberg nuclear power station is the only nuclear power station in South Africa and contains two uranium pressurized water reactors based on a design by

Framatome Framatome () is a French nuclear reactor business. It is owned by Électricité de France (EDF) (75.5%), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (19.5%), and Assystem (5%). The company first formed in 1958 to license Westinghouse's pressurized water react ...

of France. The station is located 30 km north of Cape Town. The plant is owned and operated by the country's national electricity supplier, Eskom.

PBMR

The

Pebble bed modular reactor The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) is a particular design of pebble bed reactor developed by South African company PBMR (Pty) Ltd from 1994 until 2009. PBMR facilities include gas turbine and heat transfer labs at the Potchefstroom Campus of ...

(PBMR) was a particular design of pebble-bed reactor under development by South African company PBMR (Pty) Ltd since 1994. The project entailed the construction of a demonstration power plant at Koeberg near Cape Town and a fuel plant at

Pelindaba Pelindaba ("Pelile Ndaba", Zulu for "end of story" or "the conclusion") is South Africa's main nuclear research centre, run by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. It is situated near the Hartbeespoort Dam, approximately 33 km (22 ...

near Pretoria. Government financing was withdrawn in 2010 because of missed deadlines and lack of customers.

Research

The

South African Nuclear Energy Corporation The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) was established as a public company by the Republic of South Africa Nuclear Energy Act in 1999 and is wholly owned by the State. The name is correctly indicated above, although the sequence of ...

(NECSA) was established as a public company by the Republic of South Africa Nuclear Energy Act in 1999 and is wholly owned by the State. NECSA replaced the country's Atomic Energy Corporation. The main functions of NECSA are to undertake and promote research and development in the field of nuclear energy and related technologies; to process and store nuclear material and other restricted material; and to co-ordinate with other organisations in matters falling within these spheres. The project is currently being dismantled.

Education

The following South African universities offer courses in nuclear engineering: * University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg * North-West University, at the Post-graduate School of Nuclear Science and Engineering in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river ...

* University of Cape Town, Cape Town

Nuclear weapons

South Africa built six nuclear bombs in the 1980s, which were subsequently dismantled.

References

Annotated bibliography for the South African nuclear weapons programme from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
Nuclear energy in South Africa Nuclear technology in South Africa South Africa South Africa {{SouthAfrica-mil-stub