RV-1 | |
---|---|
![]() Façade of the RV-1 Nuclear Reactor facility in the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC) | |
Reactor concept | Pool-type |
Status | Dismantled |
Location | Venezuela |
Coordinates | 10°23′51″N 66°59′03″W / 10.39750°N 66.98417°W |
Main parameters of the reactor core | |
Fuel ( fissile material) | 235U |
Primary moderator | Light water |
Primary coolant | Water |
Reactor usage | |
Primary use | Research |
Power (thermal) | 3 MW |
Criticality (date) | 12 July 1960 |
Operator/owner | IVIC |
The RV-1 nuclear reactor, now repurposed and known as Gamma rays sterilization plant ('Pegamma'; Spanish: Planta de Esterilización por Rayos Gamma), [1] is a facility located in Altos Mirandinos, Miranda, Venezuela. [1] It was the only nuclear reactor in Venezuela and one of the first reactors in Latin America. [2] [3] [a] Currently, it is used as a gamma ray facility for microbiological sterilization of surgical supplies, packaging, medicine and dry food. [4]
The RV-1 was a pool-type material testing reactor (MTR) with a capacity of 3 megawatts of thermal power. It contained 20% enriched uranium as core fuel and used light water as both coolant and neutron moderator. [5]
During the regime of president Marcos Pérez Jiménez, Venezuela became member of the International Atomic Energy Agency after purchasing the RV-1 reactor from General Electric in 1956. [6] [7] The project was supported by the administration of United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower, to help promote the Atoms for Peace program, [8] [9] with the United States donating US$300,000 for the construction of the reactor. [9] The reactor was constructed in the grounds of the Venezuelan Institute of Neurology and Brain Research (IVNIC, now known as IVIC - Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research) under the supervision of Humberto Fernández-Morán; he never saw the project finished, as he went into exile after the Pérez Jiménez regime fell in 1958. [6]
The reactor reached criticality in 1960 and was used for several decades to perform physics research, radiochemistry, production of radioisotopes and as neutron source. [5] RV-1 was last operated in March 1991 and the decision to permanently shutdown the reactor was made in 1997. [5] The core was later dismantled and sent back to the United States. [8]
The Venezuelan government approved 2.1 million dollars to repurpose the reactor in 2010. [1] Under the name 'Pegamma', [1] IVIC received the authorization in 2004 to use the renewed reactor facility as an industrial irradiation plant, with a cobalt-60 gamma rays source with a capacity of 1 megacurie. [4] [8]
Venezuela later announced plans to build a nuclear power station in 2010. [10] The government signed an agreement with Russia for the purchase and installation of two new nuclear reactors, [8] but after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan, President Hugo Chávez announced a halt to plans on building a nuclear power plant. [8] [11]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
RV-1 | |
---|---|
![]() Façade of the RV-1 Nuclear Reactor facility in the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC) | |
Reactor concept | Pool-type |
Status | Dismantled |
Location | Venezuela |
Coordinates | 10°23′51″N 66°59′03″W / 10.39750°N 66.98417°W |
Main parameters of the reactor core | |
Fuel ( fissile material) | 235U |
Primary moderator | Light water |
Primary coolant | Water |
Reactor usage | |
Primary use | Research |
Power (thermal) | 3 MW |
Criticality (date) | 12 July 1960 |
Operator/owner | IVIC |
The RV-1 nuclear reactor, now repurposed and known as Gamma rays sterilization plant ('Pegamma'; Spanish: Planta de Esterilización por Rayos Gamma), [1] is a facility located in Altos Mirandinos, Miranda, Venezuela. [1] It was the only nuclear reactor in Venezuela and one of the first reactors in Latin America. [2] [3] [a] Currently, it is used as a gamma ray facility for microbiological sterilization of surgical supplies, packaging, medicine and dry food. [4]
The RV-1 was a pool-type material testing reactor (MTR) with a capacity of 3 megawatts of thermal power. It contained 20% enriched uranium as core fuel and used light water as both coolant and neutron moderator. [5]
During the regime of president Marcos Pérez Jiménez, Venezuela became member of the International Atomic Energy Agency after purchasing the RV-1 reactor from General Electric in 1956. [6] [7] The project was supported by the administration of United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower, to help promote the Atoms for Peace program, [8] [9] with the United States donating US$300,000 for the construction of the reactor. [9] The reactor was constructed in the grounds of the Venezuelan Institute of Neurology and Brain Research (IVNIC, now known as IVIC - Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research) under the supervision of Humberto Fernández-Morán; he never saw the project finished, as he went into exile after the Pérez Jiménez regime fell in 1958. [6]
The reactor reached criticality in 1960 and was used for several decades to perform physics research, radiochemistry, production of radioisotopes and as neutron source. [5] RV-1 was last operated in March 1991 and the decision to permanently shutdown the reactor was made in 1997. [5] The core was later dismantled and sent back to the United States. [8]
The Venezuelan government approved 2.1 million dollars to repurpose the reactor in 2010. [1] Under the name 'Pegamma', [1] IVIC received the authorization in 2004 to use the renewed reactor facility as an industrial irradiation plant, with a cobalt-60 gamma rays source with a capacity of 1 megacurie. [4] [8]
Venezuela later announced plans to build a nuclear power station in 2010. [10] The government signed an agreement with Russia for the purchase and installation of two new nuclear reactors, [8] but after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan, President Hugo Chávez announced a halt to plans on building a nuclear power plant. [8] [11]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)