‘Research Reactor TRIGA Mark-II’ positioned in Gongneung-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul. It has been registered as a 2025 National Core Science and Technology Heritage (National Science Heritage). Photo courtesy of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
South Korea’s first nuclear reactor, launched in 1959 and positioned in Gongneung-dong, Seoul, will start demolition this month.
According to Yonhap News on the fifth, Research Reactor Unit 1, at the moment positioned on the web site of the KEPCO Seoul Training Center in Gongneung-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul, will start demolition this month after receiving approval for “self-disposal of the contaminated building” from the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission in January.
The mannequin for Research Reactor Unit 1 is the ‘TRIGA Mark-II,’ launched in 1959 from General Atomics with assist from the United States. It started operation in 1962 with a thermal output of 100 kilowatts (kW). Its output was later elevated to 250 kW, and it performed a vital function, contributing to the growth of South Korea’s fundamental nuclear analysis and trade for 33 years till its shutdown in 1995.
Research Reactor Unit 1 is especially credited with laying the groundwork for the impartial design and development of the ‘HANARO’ analysis reactor, at the moment working in Daejeon, and for securing the contract to construct a analysis reactor in Jordan.
Decontamination and decommissioning of Research Reactor Unit 1 started in 1997, with the dismantlement of its auxiliary and surrounding services accomplished in 2007. The adjoining Unit 2 was fully dismantled, together with the reactor core, by 2005.
Research Reactor Unit 1 was designated as Registered Cultural Heritage No. 577 in 2013, and its exterior stays intact. It was additionally designated as a 2025 National Core Science and Technology Heritage (National Science Heritage).
The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) is in dialogue with the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) on a plan to protect the reactor’s exterior whereas demolishing the constructing.
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