The Philippine Research Reactor-1 (PRR-1) is a

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 ...

that is owned and maintained by the

Philippine Nuclear Research Institute The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) is a government agency under the Department of Science and Technology (Philippines), Department of Science and Technology mandated to undertake research and development activities in the peacefu ...

(PNRI) in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The PRR-1 is the first nuclear reactor and the only operating nuclear facility in the Philippines. The PRR-1 initially operated as a

critical Critical or Critically may refer to: *Critical, or critical but stable, medical states **Critical, or intensive care medicine * Critical juncture, a discontinuous change studied in the social sciences. *Critical Software, a company specializing i ...

reactor from 1963 to 1988 and the facility became dormant for 34 years. A new

subcritical reactor A subcritical reactor is a nuclear fission reactor concept that produces fission without achieving criticality. Instead of sustaining a chain reaction, a subcritical reactor uses additional neutrons from an outside source. There are two general c ...

, the Subcritical Assembly for Training, Education, and Research (SATER), was setup within the facility which was first loaded with nuclear rods in June 2022.

History

The Philippine Research Reactor-1 was built under 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 equipment ...

nuclear research exchange program of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The reactor which had its first criticality on August 26, 1963, was built by U.S. firm

General Atomics General Atomics (GA) is an American energy and defense corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, that specializes in research and technology development. This includes physics research in support of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion en ...

and was originally a 1 MW MTR-type open pool general-purpose reactor. It was successfully operated from 1964 to 1984 and was utilized for training and research in nuclear science as well as for isotope production. In 1984, the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC; then name of the

(PNRI)) decided to convert and upgrade the reactor into a 3 MW

TRIGA TRIGA (Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics) is a class of nuclear research reactor designed and manufactured by General Atomics. The design team for TRIGA, which included Edward Teller, was led by the physicist Freeman Dyson. Design ...

Mark III reactor. The converted reactor achieved criticality in April 1988. The converted PRR-1 TRIGA reactor used

low-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 (238U ...

instead of

highly 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 (238 ...

. After its conversion, technical and administrative problems rendered the facility inoperable, which resulted in its extended shutdown. In 2005, it was initially decided that the reactor would be decommissioned. The PNRI with the help of the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...

set up a new

with zero-power configuration, the Subcritical Assembly for Training, Education, and Research (SATER) facility. The SATER project was conceptualized in 2014, but actual work on it only began in 2017. After 34 years of the PRR-1 being left unused, the commissioning process of the SATER began when it was loaded with 44 nuclear rods on June 20, 2022. SATER is meant as a training reactor for research reactor operators, regulators and users. The SATER is expected to be fully operational by 2023.

Notes

References

{{authority control Nuclear technology in the Philippines Nuclear research reactors Buildings and structures in Quezon City 1963 establishments in the Philippines

History

Notes

See also

References