goingcritical:opalAustralia · Research reactor
OPAL
Status: Operating critical since August 12, 2006 Reactor status full glossary → Announced Publicly announced — a site and design are proposed, but construction has not begun. Site preparation Early site and civil works are under way; the first safety-related ("nuclear") concrete has not yet been poured. Under construction Formal construction has begun, marked by the first nuclear concrete. Fuel loaded Nuclear fuel has been loaded into the core. The reactor is fuelled but has not yet gone critical. Critical Has reached first criticality — a self-sustaining chain reaction, usually at low power — but is not yet connected to the grid. Grid connected Synchronised to the electrical grid and exporting power for the first time, but still in commissioning and power-ascension testing — not yet in commercial service. In commercial operation — the operator has formally declared the unit in regular commercial service. Shut down Permanently shut down and no longer generating; may be defuelled, undergoing decommissioning, or preserved in place. Canceled Abandoned before completion.
Site: Lucas Heights, New South Wales
Australia's only nuclear reactor — reached criticality at 11:25 p.m. on 12 August 2006, full 20 MW power in November 2006, and was officially opened 20 April 2007; replaced HIFAR and supplies roughly 8% of the world's Mo-99 for nuclear medicine
Details
| Design | Open Pool Australian Lightwater reactor — light-water cooled and moderated, heavy-water reflector vessel, 16 LEU plate-type U3Si2-Al fuel assemblies in a 4x4 array with five control rods, in a 12.8 m pool |
| Capacity | 20 MW (thermal where reported) |
Milestone history
- Announced —
- Construction start 2002
- Fuel load —
- First criticality August 12, 2006