5 ms·

This map lists "nuclear power plants" and therefore is missing research reactors. Any research reactor contains a critical mass of fuel, and therefore is fully

This map lists "nuclear power plants" and therefore is missing research reactors. Any research reactor contains a critical mass of fuel, and therefore is fully capable of meltdown.

jhallenworld 7y ago
Not true: TRIGA reactors can be put into prompt critical but shut themselves quickly as they get hot. They do it on purpose with a pneumatically ejected control rod to generate a high neutron flux pulse: https://ne.oregonstate.edu/11-mw-triga-mark-ii-pulsing-research-reactor https://ne.oregonstate.edu/11-mw-triga-mark-ii-pulsing-resea... As far as meltdown: if you drain all of the water, they do not generate enough decay heat to melt down due to their size. They were invented by Freeman Dyson as a "reactor safe enough for high school students to operate".
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  Is it legal to own and operate such a reactor as a private citizen?
  - FiatLuxDave 7y ago
    You would have to get a license, either from the NRC or from your state regulator (it is different in different states). Oregon is an NRC agreement state, so in Oregon it would be from the state. Typically there is a person whose name is on the license, who is responsible for the proper use of the reactor. At an organization this could be the boss, owner, or RSO. In theory, as a private citizen you could get a license, as long as you can prove to the regulator that you have the experience and training to operate the reactor properly. Of course, you would have to comply with all the rules and regulations. This could be quite burdensome for a private citizen, especially with the additional security rules added post 9/11 (assuming you are not a billionaire). Edit: removed link to quantities of concern, sorry, rules are different for reactors. Edit again: better link for security regs: https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power.html https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power.html
- java-man 7y ago
  Thank you for providing a valuable insight on a subset of the types currently used. In Moscow (Russia) alone, there are nearly a dozen of research reactors, of various designs.
jesuschroist 7y ago
But isn't this exactly what the title says it is?
- java-man 7y ago
  yes.
pp19dd 7y ago
Yep, the map definitely does not include experimental reactors, of which there are as just many. For example, UWI CNS SLOWPOKE in Jamaica. There are 200+ decommissioned experimental reactors, 240 operational, 200 shut down, and a few others in change. The more interesting thing is the variety, 70+ types, 20+ types of moderators, 80+ types of control rods, 20-ish types of coolants, 50+ types of reflector materials. Edit: here's a full list of types and their counts. +----------+---------------------------+ | count(*) | technical_21_reactor_type | +----------+---------------------------+ | 4 | NULL | | 3 | AIR COOLED | | 1 | AQUEOUS BREEDER | | 28 | ARGONAUT | | 1 | BWR | | 1 | BWR POWER | | 2 | BWR-PROTOTYPE | | 97 | CRIT ASSEMBLY | | 9 | CRIT FAST | | 1 | CRIT GRAPHITE | | 3 | EXPERIMENTAL | | 3 | FAST | | 8 | FAST BREEDER | | 9 | FAST BURST | | 1 | FAST SOURCE | | 2 | FAST, HG COOLED | | 2 | FAST, NA COOLED | | 1 | FAST, POWER | | 1 | FAST, PULSED | | 1 | GAS | | 12 | GRAPHITE | | 2 | GRAPHITE AGR | | 2 | GRAPHITE CO2 | | 4 | GRAPHITE PILE | | 1 | GRAPHITE, AIR | | 1 | GRAPHITE, PULSE | | 1 | HE COOLED | | 2 | HEATING PROT | | 35 | HEAVY WATER | | 1 | HEAVY WATER PWR | | 2 | HIGH TEMP GAS | | 3 | HOMOG | | 28 | HOMOG (L) | | 41 | HOMOG (S) | | 2 | HOMOG PUL | | 1 | LOOP TYPE | | 9 | MNSR | | 1 | MOBILE EDU. | | 1 | N2 COOLED | | 1 | ORGANIC MODER | | 134 | POOL | | 1 | POOL-2 CORES | | 1 | POOL-VAR | | 10 | POOL, IRT | | 3 | POOL, MTR | | 2 | POOL, PULSTAR | | 1 | POOL, UZRH | | 1 | POOL/CHANNELS | | 1 | PRESS. VESSEL | | 1 | PRESSURIZED | | 9 | PROMPT BURST | | 4 | PULSING | | 3 | PWR | | 1 | PWR POWER | | 1 | PWR PROPULSION | | 3 | SLOWPOKE | | 7 | SLOWPOKE-2 | | 1 | SPACE TEST | | 12 | SUBCRIT | | 56 | TANK | | 10 | TANK IN POOL | | 11 | TANK WWR | | 2 | TRIGA | | 2 | TRIGA ACPR | | 8 | TRIGA CONV | | 2 | TRIGA DUAL CORE | | 1 | TRIGA MARK CONV | | 3 | TRIGA MARK F | | 20 | TRIGA MARK I | | 24 | TRIGA MARK II | | 6 | TRIGA MARK III | | 1 | TRIGA MODIFIED | | 1 | U-233 FUELLED | | 1 | ZERO POWER D2O | | 1 | ZERO POWER HTD | | 1 | ZRH, AIR COOLED | | 1 | ZRH, BE REFLECT | | 1 | ZRH, H2O COOLED | +----------+---------------------------+

This map lists "nuclear power plants" and therefore is missing research reactors. Any research reactor contains a critical mass of fuel, and therefore is fully capable of meltdown.

jhallenworld 7y ago

Not true: TRIGA reactors can be put into prompt critical but shut themselves quickly as they get hot. They do it on purpose with a pneumatically ejected control rod to generate a high neutron flux pulse: https://ne.oregonstate.edu/11-mw-triga-mark-ii-pulsing-research-reactor https://ne.oregonstate.edu/11-mw-triga-mark-ii-pulsing-resea... As far as meltdown: if you drain all of the water, they do not generate enough decay heat to melt down due to their size. They were invented by Freeman Dyson as a "reactor safe enough for high school students to operate".

toomuchtodo 7y ago
Is it legal to own and operate such a reactor as a private citizen?
- FiatLuxDave 7y ago
  You would have to get a license, either from the NRC or from your state regulator (it is different in different states). Oregon is an NRC agreement state, so in Oregon it would be from the state. Typically there is a person whose name is on the license, who is responsible for the proper use of the reactor. At an organization this could be the boss, owner, or RSO. In theory, as a private citizen you could get a license, as long as you can prove to the regulator that you have the experience and training to operate the reactor properly. Of course, you would have to comply with all the rules and regulations. This could be quite burdensome for a private citizen, especially with the additional security rules added post 9/11 (assuming you are not a billionaire). Edit: removed link to quantities of concern, sorry, rules are different for reactors. Edit again: better link for security regs: https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power.html https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power.html
java-man 7y ago
Thank you for providing a valuable insight on a subset of the types currently used. In Moscow (Russia) alone, there are nearly a dozen of research reactors, of various designs.

jesuschroist 7y ago

But isn't this exactly what the title says it is?

java-man 7y ago
yes.

pp19dd 7y ago

Yep, the map definitely does not include experimental reactors, of which there are as just many. For example, UWI CNS SLOWPOKE in Jamaica. There are 200+ decommissioned experimental reactors, 240 operational, 200 shut down, and a few others in change. The more interesting thing is the variety, 70+ types, 20+ types of moderators, 80+ types of control rods, 20-ish types of coolants, 50+ types of reflector materials. Edit: here's a full list of types and their counts. +----------+---------------------------+ | count(*) | technical_21_reactor_type | +----------+---------------------------+ | 4 | NULL | | 3 | AIR COOLED | | 1 | AQUEOUS BREEDER | | 28 | ARGONAUT | | 1 | BWR | | 1 | BWR POWER | | 2 | BWR-PROTOTYPE | | 97 | CRIT ASSEMBLY | | 9 | CRIT FAST | | 1 | CRIT GRAPHITE | | 3 | EXPERIMENTAL | | 3 | FAST | | 8 | FAST BREEDER | | 9 | FAST BURST | | 1 | FAST SOURCE | | 2 | FAST, HG COOLED | | 2 | FAST, NA COOLED | | 1 | FAST, POWER | | 1 | FAST, PULSED | | 1 | GAS | | 12 | GRAPHITE | | 2 | GRAPHITE AGR | | 2 | GRAPHITE CO2 | | 4 | GRAPHITE PILE | | 1 | GRAPHITE, AIR | | 1 | GRAPHITE, PULSE | | 1 | HE COOLED | | 2 | HEATING PROT | | 35 | HEAVY WATER | | 1 | HEAVY WATER PWR | | 2 | HIGH TEMP GAS | | 3 | HOMOG | | 28 | HOMOG (L) | | 41 | HOMOG (S) | | 2 | HOMOG PUL | | 1 | LOOP TYPE | | 9 | MNSR | | 1 | MOBILE EDU. | | 1 | N2 COOLED | | 1 | ORGANIC MODER | | 134 | POOL | | 1 | POOL-2 CORES | | 1 | POOL-VAR | | 10 | POOL, IRT | | 3 | POOL, MTR | | 2 | POOL, PULSTAR | | 1 | POOL, UZRH | | 1 | POOL/CHANNELS | | 1 | PRESS. VESSEL | | 1 | PRESSURIZED | | 9 | PROMPT BURST | | 4 | PULSING | | 3 | PWR | | 1 | PWR POWER | | 1 | PWR PROPULSION | | 3 | SLOWPOKE | | 7 | SLOWPOKE-2 | | 1 | SPACE TEST | | 12 | SUBCRIT | | 56 | TANK | | 10 | TANK IN POOL | | 11 | TANK WWR | | 2 | TRIGA | | 2 | TRIGA ACPR | | 8 | TRIGA CONV | | 2 | TRIGA DUAL CORE | | 1 | TRIGA MARK CONV | | 3 | TRIGA MARK F | | 20 | TRIGA MARK I | | 24 | TRIGA MARK II | | 6 | TRIGA MARK III | | 1 | TRIGA MODIFIED | | 1 | U-233 FUELLED | | 1 | ZERO POWER D2O | | 1 | ZERO POWER HTD | | 1 | ZRH, AIR COOLED | | 1 | ZRH, BE REFLECT | | 1 | ZRH, H2O COOLED | +----------+---------------------------+